Japanese automaker Honda has announced plans to invest $40 billion into electric vehicle technology in the next ten years, even as it seeks to switch all sales away from traditional fuel cars.
The company says plans are underway to launch 30 EV models by 2030, with an annual production volume of more than two million units.
The company says the investment will go towards the area of electrification and software technologies to further accelerate its electrification. This will include building its own electrification architecture and exploring new growth opportunities in space exploration, eVTOL, avatar robots and more.
Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Honda says that over the next decade, Honda will also invest around $64 billion in research and development, and an additional $80 million per year in startups that could help the the firm expand its business and shift from selling products alone to offering combined solutions.
The investment is the latest step in its push to have electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100% of all sales by 2040.
Honda and Sony announced last month they would start a new company to develop and sell electric vehicles, with sales of their first electric model expected to begin in 2025.
Early this month, Honda also partnered with General Motors to co-develop a series of electric vehicles based on a new global architecture, seeking production of millions of vehicles starting in 2027. GM-Honda developed vehicles will be priced below $30,000.
At present, around 10% of European car sales are EVs, and 2% in the US.
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