• According to Honda's CEO, the gasoline engine is likely to remain with us at least until 2040.
• Toshihiro Mibe believes that charging infrastructure will not be ready in time in some areas.
• Honda is set to launch its first all-electric model this year, the 2024 Prologue.
Most of the automakers who have been aggressive in moving towards electrification have pinpointed 2025 as the year when gasoline engines will be a thing of the past, at least under the hood of new vehicles.
Some manufacturers have even advanced that timeline up to 2030.
Honda clearly is not among the firm believers on this front. Company CECO Toshihiro Mibe told Reuters recently that the combustion engine will probably not disappear from new-car dealership showrooms before at least 2040. He believes gas engines could be around even beyond that date.
The reason? Charging infrastructure, or the lack of it. According to Mibe, that infrastructure “is not at a place that it needs to be for our customers.”
It’s hard to argue with him on this point, and several manufacturers have publicly stated the same. While in Canada, the infrastructure should be in place by 2030 or 2035, the reality will be different in certain regions of the world.
It should be noted that Honda has not been the most active automaker to date when it comes to electrification. However, it has made progress more recently. In January, for example, it announced, along with LG Energy, the construction of a new EV battery plant near Columbus, Ohio. The facility is expected to be operational by 2025.
Prior to that, Honda had committed to investing $700 million in three of its five Ohio plants, including the factory in Marysville that assembles the Accord and Civic sedans.
As well, last fall Honda and Sony announced a major partnership for the development of electric vehicles, with the goal of launching a first model in 2026.
This year, we’ll see the appearance of the Prologue from Honda, as well as the ZDX from Acura. These two SUVs are based on General Motors' Ultium platform under an agreement already signed between the two groups. After that, future EV models will have a structure developed in-house.
Clearly, while Honda sees a future with an electric lineup, it also envisions ICE models co-existing with them for some time.