Hong Kong (CNN Business)Honda is joining the flurry of global automakers spending tens of billions of dollars to turn to electric.
Announced was made by the Japanese on Tuesday that it would invest approximately 5 trillion yen ($39.8 billion) to electrify its lineup over the next decade, including software and research and development.
According to this Japanese company, it wants to launch 30 new electric vehicle models, including two SUVs and a mini car, by 2030. The manufacturer also plans to ramp up production to more than 2 million EVs annually. Honda (HMC) is paying particular attention to the development of so-called "solid-state batteries," a source of power that's intended to be lighter and faster to recharge, and offer more traveling range than lithium-ion batteries traditionally used to power electric cars.
Up to date , the company has sunk 43 billion yen ($343 million) into developing its own line of solid-state batteries, which it said it hopes to bring to market "in the second half" of this decade. For the meantime , it still has to rely on lithium batteries, which it currently gets from external partners. In north America, Honda has agreed to source batteries from General Motors , though the Japanese company said Tuesday that it hadn't ruled out the idea of forming a joint venture to produce such technology with another partner. In China, the Japanese company has a battery deal with CATL, a market leader and Tesla (TSLA) supplier.
Volkswagen and Toyota (TM) have each put up at least $35 billion for EVs. Hyundai (HYMTF) has pledged the same sum to future-proofing its lineup, which includes investments in both electric and autonomous vehicles. Honda's stock was little changed on Tuesday in Tokyo, but it bucked a 1.8% drop for the Nikkei 225 (N255) index. They believe this investment will fetch them more profits in some few decades to come.
