As with many different automobile producers, Honda has scaled again its EV ambitions. Final yr, it allotted 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) for electrification, solely to chop that by 30 % a couple of months in the past. The corporate had additionally aimed for purely electrical automobiles to account for 30 % of annual gross sales by the top of the last decade, however that concentrate on is now not in place. In a brand new assertion, Honda makes it clear it would not see EVs as the one path to carbon neutrality.

To be clear, Honda nonetheless stands by its aim to “obtain carbon neutrality for all merchandise and company actions” by 2050. However because the previous saying goes, it believes there’s a couple of technique to pores and skin a cat. Talking with Australia’s Drive journal, the top of the corporate’s native arm urged EVs aren’t the one answer to decreasing carbon emissions. Not too long ago appointed Honda Australia CEO Jay Joseph defined:

Picture by: Honda

“A degree I need to make with that’s that EVs aren’t the aim. Battery-electric autos are a pathway to attaining carbon impartial – not essentially the one pathway. EVs will proceed to enhance – we’re engaged on solid-state batteries – however our aim is carbon impartial, not battery-electric autos. That’s simply the plain pathway within the close to to mid-term, however we’ll develop different applied sciences that assist obtain that as nicely. We want that to incorporate electrified gas cell autos when the infrastructure is there.”

Whereas the Readability has come and gone, Honda hasn’t deserted hydrogen. The CR-V e:FCEV is a gas cell automobile with a twist, doubling as a plug-in hybrid due to a chargeable 17.7-kWh battery pack providing 29 miles of electrical vary. Toyota and Hyundai additionally stay dedicated to hydrogen, and even BMW plans to launch a gas cell automobile in 2028 with assist from Toyota. In contrast, Stellantis lately deserted all hydrogen efforts, calling it a “area of interest section.”

Fellow Japanese model Toyota believes there’s room for much more powertrain variety. The world’s largest automaker is satisfied hydrogen-burning combustion engines may function a substitute for going all-in on battery EVs. Along with home companions Mazda and Subaru, it is creating carbon-neutral engines able to operating on liquid hydrogen, biofuel, and artificial gas.

Hydrogen refueling infrastructure is severely underdeveloped

That mentioned, the elephant within the room stays infrastructure, or the dearth thereof. Any sort of hydrogen-powered automobile could be tough to personal given how underdeveloped the fueling community is. In accordance with H2stations.org, solely about 1,160 refueling stations had been operational globally on the finish of final yr. Infrastructure for artificial fuels is virtually nonexistent, with just a few exceptions, reminiscent of Porsche’s pilot plant in Chile.

Some would argue automakers are beating a useless horse with hydrogen and artificial fuels, however others stay skeptical that battery EVs are the last word reply. One of the controversial claims comes from Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda. In early 2024, he predicted that conventional EVs would by no means exceed a 30-percent market share. However all indicators counsel he could also be confirmed flawed within the not-too-distant future, as battery EVs proceed to achieve traction.

The Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA) stories that standard electrical automobiles made up over 20 % of world gross sales in 2024 and are on monitor to surpass 25 % this yr. Whereas China largely drives demand, Europe can be making substantial positive factors. In accordance with the European Car Producers’ Affiliation, EVs accounted for 17.5 % of latest automobile gross sales within the first half of 2025, up from 13.9 % in the identical interval final yr.