TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- American Honda Motor Co. will go ahead with plans for more environmentally friendly vehicles despite the Trump administration's plan to roll back emissions targets.
"To reduce the requirements this late in the game doesn't change anything," Steve Center, vice president of Honda's connected and environmental business development office, said Wednesday at the seminars.
On Thursday, the Trump administration released its proposal to roll back the targets. Automakers, suppliers, experts and leaders from several states quickly responded. California vowed to fight "this stupidity in every conceivable way possible."
"The product cycles going forward -- that work's done. We view those regulations as a low bar; that's the bar you have to hit to play. We have a big commitment to society, and if the regulations get stretched out, maybe it's giving everyone a little more space. But in our case, we're still moving forward."
Honda plans for electrified vehicles to make up two-thirds of its global auto sales by 2030. And Center believes it can make such powertrains the norm despite challenges around public acceptance and charging infrastructure.
It will do that by exposing more customers to gasoline-electric hybrids, he said, such as the Accord or Insight.
"Hybrids don't require any getting used to," he said. "They require no change in customer convenience or lifestyle. From there, you go to plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars."
Public acceptance will rise, he said, if consumers are more used to the technology and if they don't have to pay a lot.
"As you deploy these cars to a greater degree across your whole model line, you have the scale and the cost comes down," he said. "Consumers care about inconvenience and cost in regards to purchasing electrified vehicles. If these factors fade, then research shows consumers are interested in purchasing these vehicles."
Honda is also working on fuel cell vehicles, believing they have the greatest long-term potential to solve society's environmental and energy concerns. The automaker's hydrogen-powered fuel cell Clarity hit dealerships in California this year, and last year the company announced an $85 million joint investment with General Motors to build hydrogen fuel cell stacks for next-generation green vehicles at a factory in Michigan.
"We think that's the longer-term solution," Center said. "Not everyone can charge a battery-electric car at home."
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