Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) of Japan announced on Tuesday that it expects to invest $64 billion in research and development over the next decade, with an ambitious goal of rolling out 30 electric car models globally by 2030.
Its targets include producing 2 million electric vehicles per year by 2030, with the goal of gaining a foothold in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector, which is headed by Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), while Japanese automakers fear falling behind European and American competitors.
“We’re going to invest around 8 trillion yen in research and development expenses over the next ten years,” Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said, referring to the equivalent of $64 billion.
Honda announced plans to build a specialized electric vehicle production line in North America, where it will also buy Ultium batteries from GM (GM.N).
Apart from its GM collaboration, it is also exploring forming a separate joint venture business for battery manufacturing there.
Last week, Honda and General Motors announced intentions to produce a series of lower-cost electric vehicles based on a new joint platform, building on GM’s ambitions to start producing two electric SUVs for Honda in 2024.
The company is looking for partners to help it save expenses and share technology as it transitions to electric vehicles.
The business announced in March that it would collaborate with Sony Corp (6768.T) to develop and sell electric vehicles, with the first model expected to hit the market in 2025.
Last year, he set a goal for electric and fuel cell vehicles to account for 100% of worldwide sales by 2040.
Honda’s stock dipped 0.2 percent on Tuesday, surpassing the Nikkei 225 index’s (.N225) 1.8 percent drop.
