In the global electrification process, the voice of the fuel-powered car powerhouse Japan is clearly in a silent state in our media.
In April of this year, Honda’s newly appointed global CEO Toshihiro Mibe announced Honda’s electrification goals in all major electrification markets including China: to increase the proportion of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles in overall sales to 40% by 2030, 80% by 2035, and reach 100% by 2040. At the same time, in order to quickly and stably implement these goals, Honda plans to no longer introduce any new gasoline-powered models after 2030 in China, and will electrify all new models on the market (such as HEVs and EVs).
On October 13th, Honda China jointly held the Honda China Electrification Strategy Release Conference with GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda to provide a more detailed layout of electrification in China, a “critical” market of Honda, based on the global strategy announced in April. The live event was very compact and the information output was also relatively dense.
Retain the “Honda Flavor”
In the era of electric vehicles, Honda is preparing to release the Architecture electric vehicle platform for its electric vehicle models, which includes two different driving modes: “e:N Architecture F” and “e:N Architecture W”.
The e:N Architecture F platform is a front-wheel drive platform that will be applied to compact and medium-sized cars. The e:N Architecture W platform includes AWD (front and rear dual motors) and RWD, and will be applied to medium and large-sized cars.
Regarding the motor, Honda claims to use high-efficiency and high-power motors, and also use electrical control technology from F1 and NSX to create Honda’s unique “sportiness”.
e:N OS
e:N OS includes Honda SENSING and Honda CONNECT.
Honda SENSING 360 perception hardware is currently composed of a monocular camera and 5 millimeter-wave radars, which can achieve more than 20 driving assistance functions, and also has accumulated technology from Honda’s “L3”.
In the demonstration video, Honda CONNECT supports wireless unlocking and remote control, and in the next generation, it will be able to remotely monitor potential risks in traffic conditions and driving environments to recommend safe routes. Additionally, DMC can recognize the driver’s facial expressions, and Honda also showcased the demonstration of a large-sized HUD.
New Products
The e:N brand’s product release schedule in China is quite clear, with four rounds of launches. Apart from the first round, the remaining three rounds are all concept cars, and these concept cars will be put into mass production within five years.
The first round of products will be launched as early as next year. Dongfeng is responsible for the e:N S1, which will debut at the Wuhan Auto Show a week later and is the first e:N model. GAC is responsible for the e:N P1, which made its debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show this year. Both cars belong to the Architecture F platform and will be mass-produced as early as the spring of 2022.
The two new cars in the first round maintain the same size, with dimensions of 4390mm in length, 1790mm in width, and 1560 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2610mm.
Honda has also adopted a new logo for e:N: a glowing “H” on the front and glowing “Honda” in English on the back.
Chinese MarketDuring the live broadcast, several executives from Honda have repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Chinese market. This is evident in the e:N brand’s pioneering landing in China, where e:N models produced in China are even exported to other global markets by Honda.
Honda China has announced that its new pure electric vehicle factory in China will be built and put into operation in 2024.
Information source: Honda China
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.