Honda's CEO Says Toyota's Hydrogen Cars Plan Is Flawed

Honda's CEO T

Honda's CEO has said that Toyota's plan is flawed

has said that Toyota's commitment and proposals towards hydrogen powertrains are flawed. He said that Honda had pursued the technology a decade ago and deemed it untenable for cars, but that hasn't resulted in the Japanese giant completely abandoning the technology.

"We have conducted research into every possibility that's out there. As for hydrogen engines, we see some quite difficult technological challenges. So, about 10 years ago, we decided this would not become mainstream," he said.

Toyota has been a major proponent of hydrogen cars but till recently it was also very anti-electric cars. It is also aggressively pursuing hybrid cars like the Camry which is even sold in India.

But Honda has a more balanced view of the situation - where Mibe believes for personal mobility the electric powertrains will be the way to go. However, when it comes to the future of aircraft, Honda Motors also has a jet engines subsidiary that is working on hydrogen. Many companies are also looking at hydrogen for trucking where it could be viable in the world of logistics an area where Honda has been a player.

"If we look at what will become mainstream, probably for smaller mobility it will be EVs, and fuel cells for larger mobility. That is the conclusion so far," Mibe explained.

Mibe has committed that Honda will be phasing out the internal combustion engine by 2040 and will be focusing on battery electric vehicles and fuel cell-based vehicles to reach zero emissions.