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It wasn’t that long ago everyone had to get on the EV bandwagon, but now automakers like Honda are rapidly hopping off. Instead of being all-in on electric cars like it was just a year ago, the Japanese automaker seems to be copying its big brother Toyota in declaring hybrids are the way forward.
Mercedes celebrates a big milestone for the G-Wagon.
This has been disconcerting for EV fanboys who were riding high as the US federal government was enforcing their worldview. But the tables turned quickly after one election as the people voted in large numbers to reverse such draconian agendas.
And now, automakers are finally listening. The US car market holds tremendous sway globally, so as we’re zigging, companies like Honda are paying attention.
Revising the previous goal of having at least 30 percent of its new product offerings be EVs by 2030 doesn’t meant Honda has given up on being completely carbon neutral by 2050. In a recent interview with Drive, Honda Australia President and CEO Jay Joseph provided some clarity.
“BEVs [Battery Electric Vehicles] are not the goal, better electric vehicles are a pathway to achieving carbon neutral, not necessarily the only pathway,” he said.
“BEVs will continue to improve, we’re working on solid-state batteries, but our goal is carbon neutral, not battery electric vehicles.”
“That’s just the obvious pathway in the near to mid-term, but we’ll develop other technologies that help achieve that as well.”
If that seems like corporate doublespeak, well it is, and we’d expect nothing less when automakers are still trying to feel out what people really want. We also fully expect another Honda executive to make conflicting statements soon.
From multiple reports throughout the industry, it appears Honda is still trying to develop its fuel cell vehicles, which we know in many ways anger EV enthusiasts more than hybrids or even traditional gas-only cars. It seems everything’s on the table at the moment as change is in the air.
Image via Honda
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