Honda remains bearish on EVs

Honda is more focused on making conventional vehicles more fuel efficient while increasing hybrid production on the way to fuel cell vehicles. Electric cars will be made, but Honda doens't see a strong future.

Honda's fuel cell dream

But will still produce some electric cars

While Honda will continue to research electric cars, as it has since 1988, and even build a few models, the automaker doesn’t believe that electric cars are set to have a big impact on automotive sales.

“We lack confidence in the electric-vehicle business,” said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s research and development unit.

Instead, Honda believes that making current gasoline engine technologies more fuel efficient, and adding more hybrid cars to their portfolio is a better interim path. Long term, Honda continues to believe fuel cell vehicles are the end game.

While other companies, such as Nissan, believe that electric cars could achieve 10 percent penetration by 2020, Honda seems more inclined to believe forecasts from the likes of Advanced Automotive Batteries whose President has cited 1 percent penetration by 2020 as a more likely scenario.

Of course, not long ago Honda also underestimated the hybrid market.