Honda hatches a modular EV plan for the U.S.

WAKO, Japan — U.S. dealers will miss out on Honda's next electric car when it arrives this year.

But something bigger and better may be on the way.

Honda Motor Co. said last week it is planning a truly global electric vehicle platform to underpin larger EVs that are envisioned for the U.S., China and other markets. The architecture will arrive before 2025 and accommodate everything from crossovers to sedans.

They will not be the pint-sized e hatchback that Honda will first roll out for sale only in Europe and Japan, with its cool wraparound digital display. But like the low-volume e, the larger EVs will be rear-wheel drive, with their motor in the back.

Unlike the e, the U.S.-bound products will ride on a modular platform that can accommodate a wide range of body shapes and sizes as well as different batteries and motors.

"This new architecture is designed to achieve smooth driving and highly efficient packaging," said Ayumu Matsuo, Honda's managing officer in charge of power unit development. "We believe it will meet the needs of customers who like our C-segment and D-segment models."

The arrival of a dedicated EV platform firmly thrusts Honda into the global race for all-electric vehicles, following similar announcements by rivals at home and abroad. Just last month, Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled its own specialized EV platform to support six variations — a large SUV, a medium SUV, a medium crossover, a medium minivan, a medium sedan and a compact.

Honda's platform was one of several initiatives outlined last week by CEO Takahiro Hachigo and other executives at a future technology briefing here. The presentations covered everything from autonomous driving to mobility as a service, but the EV platform stood out.

The announcements come as Honda — a middling player on the global stage despite its outsize presence in the U.S. — races to ramp up efficiency amid spiraling costs to invest in new technologies: electrification, self-driving cars, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

Japan's No. 3 player can't leverage the massive scale of some rivals. Honda is the country's last fully independent carmaker. It stands by itself between two camps of homegrown competitors that have coalesced in recent years around Toyota on one side and Nissan Motor Co. on the other.

To tackle the challenge, Hachigo overhauled r&d in February for a renewed focus on advanced technology and speed. The new mantra calls for internal innovation and open partnerships.

"We have introduced a new structure which enables our engineers to take on new challenges," Hachigo said at last week's briefing. "We have clearly divided areas of our r&d focus into advanced technology for creating new future value and the existing area for developing uniquely Honda products in collaboration with our other business operations."

Stepping up electrification is a must, and the new EV platform will play a key role.

Honda wants to electrify two-thirds of its global lineup by 2030 and achieve 100 percent electrification across its offerings in Europe by 2025. Most of those will be hybrids.

Honda also wants EVs to account for 15 percent of its 2030 sales — a huge jump from 2018, when EVs and hybrids combined for a mere 7 percent of its global volume.

The global-bound platform will prioritize standardization, flexibility, size and performance, said Tetsuya Hasebe, general manager and chief engineer of Honda's electric vehicle development division.

"It has a different aim from the Honda e," Hasebe said, adding that it can accommodate more batteries for longer drives. "This one aims for intercity, long-distance travel."

Both architectures have flat, floorboard batteries. But the new architecture will be able to fit power packs from a range of suppliers, including Panasonic and CATL. The e accommodates only Panasonic.

That added flexibility will allow the larger EVs to be manufactured around the world with locally supplied batteries. The battery width will be fixed, but it will allow for differences in the amount of battery, vehicle width, seat position, wheel size and ground clearance, resulting in bigger vehicles targeting North America and China, Hasebe said.

Driving dynamics will be another big focus.

The new platform targeting the U.S. and beyond will have a 50-50 front-rear weight distribution. The basic setup will be rwd. That will deliver sportier handling and allow the front tires to provide a tighter turning radius. A front motor can be added for all-wheel drive grip and power.