Honda bets big on hybrids with new ‘world-beating' tech
Honda has announced plans to launch no fewer than 13 next-generation hybrid cars by the end of the decade. All will feature what the brand claims will be the 'world's most efficient powertrain' and all will arrive within a four-year timeframe starting in 2027.
Honda is still moving forwards with its radical new '0 Series' electric cars, the first of which is due to launch next year, however the recent slowdown in EV sales has caused the brand to reassess some of its predictions. For instance, it no longer believes 30 per cent of its global sales will be from EVs by 2030, as previously thought, leading to some reevaluating of its EV strategy and product plan.
But while 'the expansion of the EV market has fallen behind the initial projection', as Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe put it when announcing the brand's new roadmap, 'demand for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) is growing. Advertisement - Article continues below
'We are forecasting that the demand for HEVs will continue to grow toward 2030, as they contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, without the issue of needing charging infrastructure.' These new hybrid models will 'play a key role during the transition period' before EVs become a lot more popular.
Honda's next-generation e:HEV hybrid powertrain will be an evolution of its two-motor system, which it introduced back in 2014. This sees a petrol engine work together with two electric motors, one used to drive the wheels and another to generate energy for the car's battery. The combustion engine can drive the wheels, mainly on the motorway to maximise efficiency. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
Honda plans to make various upgrades to its system, such as expanding the proportion of the rev range where the engine operates most efficiently. The new and improved hybrid setup will be combined with a new, lighter platform and a newly-developed electric AWD drive unit.
Put all this together, and Honda says it will be able to improve fuel economy by more than 10% compared to current models. For context, the latest hybrid-powered Honda Civic can officially return up to 56.5mpg, and we managed to average 50.3mpg during our own testing. Honda is also aiming to reduce the cost of its next-generation hybrid powertrains by more than 30%.
To demonstrate the renewed importance of hybrids within the company, the new 'H mark' badge that was originally only going to be worn by members of the '0 Series' EV line-up, will now also feature on Honda's most important hybrid models, starting in 2027.
Understandably, technical details are thin on the ground at the moment, and so is any information about these 13 new hybrid models. However, we expect that successors to the Jazz supermini and Civic hatchback will be among them, considering the outgoing versions are a few years old now.
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