Joerg Teuchert
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Artist’s impression of three models of electric motorcycles that Honda plans to introduce to the market by 2025.
5:44 p.m. JST, September 14, 2022
TOKYO (Jiji Press) – Honda Motor Co. said on Tuesday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its motorcycle business by the 2040s.
To achieve this goal, the Japanese automaker plans to launch more than 10 new electric motorcycle models at home and abroad by 2025.
Currently, Honda’s electric motorcycles are sold primarily in China and account for less than 0.5% of its global motorcycle sales. In Japan, its electric motorcycles are used only by businesses, including post offices.
Honda aims to increase the proportion of electric models in its overall motorcycle sales to 5% by 2026 and 15% by 2030. It will set specific decarbonization targets beyond 2030 later.
For now, Honda will simultaneously work to improve the fuel efficiency of gasoline-powered motorcycles and develop models using biofuels.
Honda is the global market leader in motorcycles, benefiting from strong demand in Asian markets, including India and Indonesia. The high-profit motorcycle business is a key source of revenue for the automaker.
Honda aims to maintain its competitiveness while promoting the shift to electric motorcycles.
With reducing the cost of batteries for electric motorcycles a major challenge, the company is considering using solid-state batteries under development for its four-wheelers.
“We can use four-wheeled vehicle technologies for two-wheeled vehicles,” Honda executive vice president Kohei Takeuchi said during a briefing at the company’s Tokyo headquarters on Tuesday.
In April, Honda announced its goal of producing more than 2 million units of four-wheel electric vehicles by 2030.
