Honda makes $105b EV pledge

Honda has announced it will double its investment in electrification and software to ¥10 trillion (NZ$105 billion) over the 10-year period to the end of its 2030 financial year.

Toshihiro Mibe, chief executive officer,  says the pledge comes after it realised the total spend it had settled on two years ago for investing in software development “was simply not enough”.

The Japanese carmaker plans to start rolling out models of a battery-powered vehicle series with a driving range of 482km or more from 2026, reports Reuters.

Mibe adds Honda plans to launch seven models in its EV series globally by 2030.

It is also sticking to its target to make EVs and fuel cell EVs represent 100 per cent of its global vehicle sales by 2040.