Honda Is Playing Catch-Up With New EV Division

Photo: Honda

Honda finally seems tired of lagging behind in the EV game, and it is now creating a new division to remedy that. The automaker is reportedly overhauling its organizational structure in order to strengthen its electric vehicle future in hopes get some of that sweet electric vehicle market share pie, as well as continue to compete with their U.S. and European rivals, Reuters reports.

A quick look at Honda and Acura’s U.S. websites reveal there are currently zero EV offerings from either brand. Honda currently sells only two hybrid vehicles: the Accord and the CR-V, and neither of them are PHEVs. Acura’s ZDX and Honda’s Prologue are down the pipeline, but those cars use GM underpinnings. There’s is Honda and Sony’s joint-venture AFEELA, but still, the automaker itself has some real work to do in the EV space.

The organizational change will take effect on April 1, 2023, and according to Reuters, the new division would encapsulate Honda’s electrification strategy and development of automobile, motorcycles and other power products. The consolidation effort would also extend the company’s regional operations. It will pare the number of regions down from six to three: North America, China and associated regions that include Europe, Japan and the rest of Asia.

The automaker is reportedly anticipating that its vehicle lineups in North America and China would consist of mostly mid- to large-sized vehicles. However, in the rest of the world, Honda would focus on small- to mid-size vehicles. That’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to what sort of vehicles people buy around the globe.

This entire restructuring effort is being done so that Honda can hit its 2030 goal of rolling out 30 EV models globally and producing 2 million EVs annually. The automaker may have laid out this goal last year, but it has some serious work to do if it wants to hit these targets in less than seven years.