Honda To Slash Hybrid Powertrain Costs By Over 50%; Plots 13 New HEVs Starting 2027

Citing a drop in global demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and a rise in popularity of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), Honda Motor Co has today announced a plan to launch 13 new hybrid cars and SUVs, over a four-year period, starting 2027. The new hybrid models will benefit from a fuel efficiency increase of more than 10 per cent (compared to existing Honda HEVs), thanks to the fitment of the company’s next-gen hybrid system. The big news about Honda’s new hybrid system is that it will make Honda’s HEVs a lot more affordable, with Honda stating it will be more than 50 per cent cheaper than the hybrid system employed in its cars since 2018.

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Use of lighter next-gen platforms and new hybrid tech will result in a fuel efficiency boost of over 10 per cent, Honda claims.

In a bid to achieve this substantial reduction in hybrid technology cost, Honda is working to lower costs of key hybrid powertrain components such as batteries and motors, along with ramping up co-creation activities with suppliers, increasing production efficiency and commonising more HEV parts and components. These steps will help the Japanese carmaker lower costs by over 50 per cent compared to HEVs on sale since 2018, and over 30 per cent compared to HEVs launched starting 2023.

City e:HEV currently costs over Rs 4 lakh more than the equivalent petrol-only City.

In India, Honda currently retails just one hybrid model – the City e:HEV, which was launched in 2022. Compared to its standard petrol equivalent, the City e:HEV costs a little over Rs 4 lakh more, at Rs 20.85 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Honda will introduce its next-gen hybrid technology in both small as well as midsize models, which will be based on a new platform with improved stability and reduced weight, and will be capable of accommodating a new, electric all-wheel drive system.

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Honda now estimates BEVs will make up only around 20 per cent of its global sales by 2030.

Honda has revised the estimate for its global BEV sales ratio by 2030, initially pegged at 30 per cent, to “closer to 20 per cent”. The shrinking of the BEV sales estimate, Honda says, is likely to coincide with an increase in sales of HEVs globally. To that end, Honda has set itself an HEV sales target of 2.2 million units globally, by 2030.

The company is also aiming to develop a ‘resilient supply chain’ that isn't negatively impacted by fluctuations in demand and changes in government policies in different countries. In order to achieve that stability, Honda says it will develop a ‘flexible’ production system with mixed-model production lines capable of producing both BEVs and HEVs.