Honda has pledged to invest $64 billion to develop seven bespoke electric vehicles, which it plans to launch by 2030 on its way to selling only EVs and fuel-cell vehicles after 2040. However, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus within the company that there is enough demand for EVs, which is reflected in its limited selection of available battery-powered models.
This is true for Japan’s home market but also for North America, where Honda sells two vehicles (the Prologue and the Acura ZDX), both of which are made by General Motors on the Ultium platform. Whenever Honda’s top executives come out to speak about selling fully electric vehicles, it always sounds like a mixed message that, in part, reaffirms the brand’s commitment to electrification while also suggesting it’s not yet convinced this is the way.
Mostly I want a 400 mile range EV under $50k. Had to settle for a PHEV RAV4 Prime for the moment.
If you can charge at home, I think you should reconsider that 400 mile requirement. I have 310 mile range and rarely use more than like 20% of the battery.
It partially depends on lifestyle. I also have a 310 mile range and find that it’s really challenging to plan remote hiking / camping trips due to lack of infrastructure.
For sure. I just like to bring it up whenever somebody talks about needing a 400 mile range. More often than not, it’s not even their only vehicle. They just want a 1:1 replacement of their ICE range with no consideration of how home charging changes everything.
Not even just home charging. There are often options to plug in at most destinations, even if it is just 120V. Which if you’re spending a day or two is perfectly fine.
Folks often don’t consider just how long their car sits parked.
Eh, 120V recharges ~5mi in an hour on my car, whereas 240V gives ~21mi/hr.
Practically speaking, if I drive 200 miles in a day, I can recharge at 240V in under 10 hours, so overnight is generally enough. Charging at 120V would take ~40 hours. If I’m on a trip 200 miles from home, 120V charging is simply untenable and the 120V charge is just a stop gap to get me to a public fast charger.
For sure, a level 2 is much faster. My point was more if you go to say a cottage for the weekend, you’re still able to plug in there and would likely be close to full in the 2-3 days you’re parked there.
In my Ioniq 5, I’d be pretty much full with level 2 (240V) overnight, but the level 1 (120V) would only get around 20%. But, the slow charging isn’t too much of a concern if I’m staying somewhere for a couple days.
All I’m saying is that it’s possible to fuel your car nearly any time it’s parked.
It sounds like we’re on exactly the same page here and we simply have different usage expectations. We definitely agree on the value of being able to fuel the car anytime it is parked. One of the best things about EVs!
I tend to drive frequently to different attractions while on vacation, while it sounds like you might be the type of person who likes to get away to a cabin and try to avoid hustle and bustle for a few days. In your scenario the level 1 charging has plenty of time to do the job, whereas I’d have range anxiety the whole time because I’m usually on the go. 😅
If you had a daily driver EV that was smaller and met your regional range requirements, then rented a long range combustion vehicle for occasional excursions, you would still be saving a lot of money and carbon (plus NOx etc.).
It depends on your lifestyle in the end.
Hence why we went with a PHEV. We’re on EV most of the time. For the rare times a year we’re traveling the thing has a 500 mile range. I’m tired before I need to fill up. We fill the vehicle 4x a year on average. Freaking love it.
Yeah, that’s kind of why I got the RAV4 Prime in the end although I would love to replace it with a full EV eventually. I have fairly specific requirements because my folks live in the mountain about 300 miles away round trip and I need to be able to day trip it in an emergency (and 400 miles range ≠ 400 miles freeway range).