Honda announced on Tuesday that it will invest roughly $40 billion on electric vehicle technologies over the next decade as it attempts to transition away from traditional gasoline vehicles.
As worry about climate change grows, global car manufacturers are increasingly prioritising electric and hybrid vehicles, with demand growing for less polluting versions.
Honda announced in a statement that by 2030, it expects to launch 30 electric vehicle models with an annual production volume of over two million units.
Over the next ten years, the company plans to invest about five trillion yen “in the area of electrification and software technologies to further accelerate its electrification,” according to the corporation.
The investment is the latest move in the company’s goal of having electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100% of all sales by 2040, a goal it set a year ago.
Honda and Sony, a Japanese technology behemoth, said last month that they will form a new firm to develop and sell the innovative vehicles, with the first model slated to hit the market in 2025.
At the moment, electric vehicles account for roughly 10% of European car sales, while they account for only 2% in the United States.
However, demand for electric vehicles is growing, and other major manufacturers, including Honda’s Japanese rivals, are spending money and resources on them.
Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi Motors stated earlier this year that they would offer 35 new electric cars by 2030, as part of a $25 billion investment in the area.
Toyota, the world’s best-selling automaker, recently increased its electric vehicle sales target by 75%, intending to sell 3.5 million EVs per year by 2030.