Honda has revealed plans to spend £49 billion to electrify its global car business. The Japanese brand, which has been slow to react to the surge in demand for electric cars, plans to launch no fewer than 30 battery electric cars by the end of the decade. 

Honda, which currently only has the e city car in its electric portfolio, plans to ramp production up to two million electric cars a year by 2030. 

Commenting on Honda’s plans, Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said: "As far as resource investments over the next 10 years go, we're going to invest about 8 trillion yen in research and development expenses.”

As part of the plan, Honda will extend its previously announced partnership with General Motors (GM) in North America. Bosses want to build a dedicated electric car factory in the US and will take Ultium batteries supplied by GM. The brand also announced that it was exploring the possibility of a separate joint venture with GM to build battery packs. Honda and GM have collaborated since 2013, initially working on hydrogen fuel cell systems. However, while both have been involved with the development of battery technology since 2018, Honda and GM have yet to make a serious impression in the electric car arena. Although GM’s Chevrolet brand has enjoyed success with the Bolt, its appeal has dwindled in recent years. Honda’s sole electric car, the e has won plaudits for its design, but failed to win over buyers in large numbers. 

Honda has previously said it will partner with GM to develop a new generation of what is describes as affordable, lower-priced electric cars based on a new platform. These will be in addition to a pair of SUVs which are expected to launch in 2024. Ten of the new models will be launched in China, which is seen by many car makers as the most profitable in the short term. 

Honda's plan will see no fewer than 30 new all-electric models introduced by 2030

Curiously, given that most of Honda’s electrification announcement focused on the introduction of smaller, affordable models, the press release was accompanied by an image of two supercars under wraps. Although no reference was made to the development of any performance models, Honda knows the importance of ‘halo’ models to its marketing drive. Cars like the NSX and S2000 are still revered by car enthusiasts the world over, so the early appearance of two high-performance models would appear to signal that at least two of the 30 new models will be sports cars. 

In addition to its projects with GM, Honda will also continue its partnership with electronics giant Sony, which revealed a production-ready car last year. Although it’s not clear where the Sony car will fit in relation to the new Honda models, the fact that Honda is pushing forward on numerous fronts shows how keen the brand is to broaden its appeal to electric car buyers. 

Honda will continue to work with Sony to develop a mid-size electric car due in 2025