Mumbai, December 25: In a great move, Honda Motor is planning to set up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing unit in India with the main aim to move only potential electric vehicles on roads by 2030.
According to an announcement made by Honda, by 2030, electric cars will comprise 65% of the company’s overall sales. Of that, 15% will be pure electric while the rest will be hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell-powered vehicles.
Currently, the Indian unit is Honda’s fourth largest after those in the US, China and Japan, in terms of contribution to the group’s overall vehicle sales.
In July, Honda Motor decided to form a joint venture with Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd to develop motors for electric vehicles. Hitachi will own a 51% stake in the joint venture company while Honda will own 49%.
Japanese car maker Honda is the second car maker to scrap plans to sell hybrids in India after the increase in tax. Earlier this year, Toyota too stopped selling the hybrid variant of its Camry premium sedan.