Honda speeds up plans to electrify car models in Europe

(EurActiv, 24 Oct 2019) Japanese carmaker Honda has brought forward a goal to only sell electric and hybrid cars in Europe by three years to 2022, a leading company executive said on Wednesday (23 October).

“Our full line-up will be electrified by 2022,” said Tom Gardner, Honda’s senior vice president in Europe.

“Customers are quite quickly moving towards cleaner, more efficient vehicles,” with the rapid electrification of Europe at the forefront of Honda’s business strategy, Gardner told AFP in an interview.

Gardner made the announcement in Amsterdam, where Honda was presenting the new fully-electric Jazz model for the European market. Last month, Honda said it would phase out all diesel vehicle sales in Europe by 2021 in favour of electrified vehicles.

The new two-motor hybrid Jazz will be available for European markets by mid-2020, Gardner said, with the roll-out of five other models planned by 2022.

Previously the world’s seventh-largest car maker according to Global Manufacturing Magazine aimed for launching those models by 2025.

“We see a big change happening in Europe and today we are announcing our response to that.”

External link

EurActiv, 24 Oct 2019: Honda speeds up plans to electrify car models in Europe