No cars for India other than SUVs: Honda reveals its electrification plan

Until Honda launched the Elevate, everyone was anticipating that Honda was going to be the next Ford, but things have changed a lot since then, and the Elevate has turned the table completely for Honda.

In a recent media report, a new strategy and electrification plan have been revealed, quoting Mr. Toshihiro Mibe, president and CEO of Honda Motor Co., in which Honda has reportedly turned down its plan to launch any new car in a segment other than the SUV segment. It is a clear indication that Honda took too long to understand the market trend and launched its much-awaited Elevate only very recently. The launch of the Elevate just turned the table for Honda, with massive growth in sales for the company. Elevate became its best seller in just few weeks of its launch.

The Japanese automaker sees India as its key market and wishes to accelerate its electrification efforts here. The company aims to achieve global carbon neutrality by 2040, and it has set several deadlines and targets for itself for 2030, 2035, and 2040. For Honda, India is its seventh-largest market, where the share of electrified vehicles is increasing rapidly. Honda doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes it has committed in the past and wishes to bring electrified vehicles into the Indian market within the next three years.

Mr. Toshio Kuwahara (Asian Honda Motor Co. President & CEO and Head of Regional Operations, Asia and Oceania) said that “India is quite important for the automaker because of its scale, when we look at the Asia Pacific region, electrification or the market for electric vehicles is going to be critical, and because India is an important one, we think that there should be an emphasis on India as well".

Future Plans

Honda Cars India has already announced that five new SUVs will be introduced in the Indian market by 2030, one of which will be a fully electric model. The EV will be a zero-emission version of the Honda Elevate midsize SUV, which was launched in India a few months ago in an effort to boost the brand's sales. The automaker has also revealed that it is focusing only on SUVs for now and aims to grow its sales by 35 percent in the second half of this financial year.

As said, electrification will be a prime focus for the company. Honda is open to alliances with other OEMs and developers to develop emerging technologies so that the alliance is beneficial for both partners.

Honda had already announced a joint venture with technology company Sony in March 2022 to develop and build electric vehicles.