Honda and CATL Join Forces to Develop Fit-Based EV

Honda is apparently starting to make a serious move to embrace the era of vehicle electrification, finally. A Nikkei report says the Japanese automaker is working on a new global EV project along with the Chinese giant battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), as a partner.

It’s worth noting that Honda had been reluctant to take vehicle electrification seriously, which makes its EV development and expansion lagged a few steps behind its competitors’. But now the company seems to have realized the need to catch up on this. It even aims to make hybrid and electric vehicles fill about 65% of its total sales by 2030.

As suggested by the Nikkei report, Honda’s latest EV project with CATL is most likely about making an all-electric car based on the Japanese company’s Fit mini vehicle. And judging from the car it’s based on, the new EV must come with a low price, which is at slightly above 2 million yen or around $18,000 according to Nikkei.

The new Honda is reportedly to pack a small battery, giving it only a 300 km range on a single charge. The short-range EV is expected to be launched in China and other countries in 2020, with the production planned to reach 100,000 units per year.