Honda Motor Company – Past and Future

The Japanese automaker Honda has made a really big announcement recently and this could really be a real game changer for the company in a positive way. About a month ago, they released a statement to the media advising the public they would be investing in EV plants in Ontario and of course this also means they will start producing their own electric vehicles. A little late to the game admittedly but there’s always room for more, especially in a competition. 

In this week’s blog post, we will be exploring the ins and outs of Honda’s recent announcement and what it really means for you – the consumer. But like any great story, there’s always history, and not surprisingly, this might actually be the best part of the tale. Stay tuned to find out! 

Company History

Before we get into the news, let’s do a mini dive into the company history of Honda. Honda was founded in 1946 and actually started out as a company that developed small efficient internal-combustion engines. It was later incorporated into the Honda Motor Company in 1948. 

Now during 1946 the most common mode of transportation was the bicycle, so it was no surprise that Honda took this innovation and cycled with it…no pun intended. They saw so much more potential for the bicycle and decided to do something about it, well one person specifically – Soichiro Honda. The inspiration came from the Imperial Army’s generator engines that were used to power wireless radios believe it or not and the same concept was followed. 500 or so engines were modified and then bicycles with auxiliary engines were produced and to no surprise of anyone, they were an instant hit. Orders were coming in so quickly Honda couldn’t keep up and this was when the decision to develop an original engine was made. In 1947, the A-Type Engine, brandished with Honda’s name on it – for the very first time – was completed.  

Today we all have come to know and love the cars that Honda produces, but there are so many other things Honda had done before they came to this latest sector. The timeline below highlights major inventions / highlights the company has experienced over the years: 

• 1953 – The H Type farming engine was produced 
• 1954 – Honda announces its entry into motorcycle racing – 5 years later, they enter their first race
• 1959 – Overseas expansion – American Honda Motor Co. Inc opened its doors in Los Angeles 
• 1960 – Research and Development Co. LTD was established as an entity independent from Honda 
• 1961 – Honda dominates the top 5 spots in the 125cc and 250cc classes 
• 1962 – Overseas production begins in Belgium 
• 1963 – Honda enters the automotive industry releasing the T360 mini-truck followed by the S500 sports car 
• 1964 – First appearance in Formula 1 racing 
• 1972 – Low emission CVCC engine announced 
• 1981 – Honda develops the worlds first car navigation system (Honda Electro Gyrocator) that displayed the current location on the map 
• 1982 – Honda becomes the first Japanese manufacturer to produce vehicles in North America 
• 1988 – Broken records – 15 out of 16 wins in Formula 1 racing 
• 2002 – Releases world’s first lease-sales of the FCX fuel cell vehicle 
• 2014 – Honda’s motorcycles reach 300 million accumulated production milestone 
• 2015 – HondaJet deliveries begin 
• 2016 – Honda’s worldwide cumulative automobile production reaches 100 million milestone 
• 2020 – Launched new electric vehicle “Honda E” 
• 2022 – 50th Anniversary for the CIVIC 

Fast forward to 2030 (which is actually only less than 6 years away from now) where Honda has bright plans for the future too, not to worry. There are 2 areas they are planning on focusing on: The advancement of “mobility” and creating value for people’s daily lives. Within these areas, they are looking to serve people worldwide with the joy of expanding their potential. And ultimately toward the end, “lead the advancement of mobility and enable people everywhere in the world to improve their daily lives” – their 2030 Vision Statement.

Investing in an Electric Future – What are the benefits for the consumer

So as many of you may have heard by now, Honda has big plans for the future when it comes to Electric Vehicles. But this isn’t technically something new for them. They actually completed their first prototype EV in December 1995 – the first of its kind under the Honda brand. They chose the name EV Plus for the car and it was actually an experimental vehicle as the battery used did not contain lead acid. An average of 340 cars were produced and released – making this a rare grab if you had one – and production was discontinued after 1999 once Honda announced the release of their first hybrid electric car, the Honda Insight. 

They made an attempt on electric vehicles again in 2020, when they launched their new electric vehicle the Honda E. It was sold from 2020 to 2024 in Japan and from 2020 to 2023 in Europe – never actually making it to North America. But why you may ask? Well the answer is simple, the Honda E had a very simplistic look, so much so, that just by looking at it, made you want to go over and give it a hug (because of how small it was). It featured a high tech interior fit – for an Acura – and it would never have survived in the US market because of the limited range and smaller proportions. Nonetheless, the subcompact 5 door hatchback did okay for its duration, selling approximately 12,500 units in a 3 year period. 

About a year later after production was stopped, on April 25, 2024, Honda announced they would be investing $15 billion into building 4 EV plants in Ontario – with the locations having yet to be determined. Once again they would be making history being Canada’s first comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain. This deal includes the following: 

• The construction of Honda’s first electric vehicle assembly plant 
• A new stand-alone EV battery plant at Honda’s Alliston, Ontario facility   

The assembly plants are expected to be fully up and running by 2028, and this is projected to produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year and create more than 1000 well paying manufacturing jobs. 

It was also announced by the Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, that there would be a federal tax credit designed to attract EV investments in the country. Essentially, Honda and its partners would be benefiting from upwards of $2.5 billion in support from the federal government…exciting isn’t it? 

The details for the $15 billion investment will be rolled out in the next 6 months according to Honda’s CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, and once confirmed, Honda will be the first automotive company that will have rights to this tax credit. Keep in mind this will be on top of the already existing investment tax credit on the cost of investments in new machinery and equipment (30% Clean Technology Manufacturing). 

This deal also involves 2 key part suppliers for their batteries – cathodes and separators – with these locations in Ontario set to be announced at a later date. But this deal wasn’t something Honda thought about overnight and decided to take action on, this was year’s in the making and they have the support of the government which is even better.  

Final Thoughts

This is still fresh in the news and Honda still has many other details they are working through before they release them to the public, so make sure to keep your eyes to the roads and ears to the news to keep up to date with the latest!

Check out our blog post on the Honda Civic SI, linked here. It is worth the read, we promise.