Honda Planning To Launch A New EV Brand In China Next Year

Japan's Honda Motor (7267.T) will launch a new electric vehicle brand in China next year, it said on Wednesday, and will only launch battery electric, hydrogen fuel-cell, or petrol-electric hybrid vehicles there from 2030. Known for its fuel-efficient internal-combustion engines, Honda sold over 1.6 million vehicles in China last year.

The new brand will be called "e:N Series" and it plans to roll out 10 models with partners GAC (601238.SS) and Dongfeng Motor (0489.HK) over the next five years, Honda said. Its two joint ventures, GAC-Honda and Dongfeng-Honda, plan to build new EV-only assembly plants that are expected to begin production in 2024.

The planned new models will use a new vehicle operating system and are being developed based on an auto product platform designed for electric vehicles. Honda will set up an e:N Series section in all its existing retail stores.

Over time, Honda also plans to set up dedicated e:N Series retail stores but did not provide detail on that plan. Honda has roughly 1,200 Honda brand stores currently.