Honda Plans 13 New Hybrids By 2030 Amid Slowdown in EV Market Worldwide

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company has announced that it will introduce 13 new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) worldwide by 2030, amid a slowdown in global electric vehicle (EV) sales. 

Honda projects annual sales of 2.2 to 2.3 million hybrid vehicles by 2030, but has not disclosed total sales targets for that year. Additionally, Honda is developing a dedicated hybrid system for larger vehicles, set to debut in the latter half of 2025.

Earlier this month, Honda paused a CAD 15 billion (USD 10.7 billion) investment in an EV production facility in Ontario, Canada.   

"While further refining the competitiveness of its products, Honda will launch 13 next-generation HEV models globally, over four years starting in 2027, to build a broad lineup of HEV models and capture growing HEV demand in the market," said Director, President and Representative Executive Officer (Global CEO), Honda Motor Company, Toshihiro Mibe at a press briefing on the company's initiatives on automobile electrification.

Earlier, Honda had announced that EVs would make up 30 percent of its global car sales. However, the company expects the EV ratio to stay below the 30 percent target amid dwindling sales.

In India, Honda offers three models - Amaze (sedan), City (sedan) and Elevate (SUV). The City also has a hybrid variant, City e:HEV. Last year, the company announced that it would launch three new nameplates in India within FY27.

"On the other hand, current market demand for HEV models is high. Honda will position its HEVs, mostly next-generation HEV models, to be introduced to the market in 2027 onward, as the powertrain that will play a key role during the transition period toward the popularisation of EVs and further enhance its HEV lineup," he added.

According to Honda, the steady execution of the realignment strategy by 2030 will allow it to increase the total PV volume to over 3.6 million units, with a handsome contribution of 2.2 million units from HEVs by 2030.

In China, the company will work with Momenta Global, a Chinese startup company engaged in autonomous driving technology, to develop next-generation ADAS optimised for the country's road conditions. It will be installed in all future models Honda will launch in China.

"Honda is aiming to reduce the cost of the next-generation hybrid system by more than 50 percent compared to the hybrid system installed in models introduced in 2018, and by more than 30 percent compared to the hybrid system introduced in 2023 to current models," Mibe said.

Honda's domestic PV sales fell 23.86 percent to 65,925 units in FY25 from 86,584 units in FY24. However, its exports zoomed 60.23 percent to 60,229 units in FY25 from 37,589 units during the previous fiscal.