Honda plots new products in China to accelerate electrification strategy

New China-exclusive model will be developed jointly by GAC Honda, Dongfeng Honda and Honda Motor China Technology and will be introduced under the brand names of both GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda next year.

By Autocar Professional Bureau

11 Sep 2017

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In April 2017, Honda had the China premiere of the NeuV, a concept car of an artificial intelligence (AI) equipped EV commuter.

Honda Motor (China) Investment Co (HMCI), a wholly-owned Honda subsidiary in China, is upping the ante as far as electrification of its products in the China market is concerned. Following the International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development, held in Tianjin, China, on September 8-10, the Japanese carmaker has made a few announcements.

The new China-exclusive electric vehicle (EV) model, which was announced at Auto Shanghai 2017 in April and scheduled to go on sale in 2018, Honda says this model will be developed jointly by GAC Honda Automobile Co, Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co and Honda Motor China Technology Co and will be introduced under the brand names of both GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda.

For the development of EV models for the Chinese market, Honda will collaborate with Neusoft, an IT company based in China, and develop technologies in multiple areas such as battery management, cloud management of vehicle data and connectivity.

In the pursuit of the realisation of a highly-efficient mobility society and the popularisation of new energy vehicles, Honda will proactively explore new business opportunities in the area of car sharing services in China.