Honda promises hybrid variant for next-gen Fit, confirms Honda E name for electric hatch
The automaker also intends to reduce model variations to streamline manufacturing.
Honda's in the process of ramping up its electrification efforts, and in order to reach the future it's looking for, a number of things are going to change.
Honda on Wednesday announced a whole bunch of news regarding future electrified vehicles and other shifts in its lineup. The smallest bit of information is that Honda confirmed the "Honda E" name for its upcoming subcompact electric hatchback. Previewed in near-production form at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the Honda E will bring battery-electric power to an urban hatchback that's about the cutest thing the automaker's built since the Beat.
There's also some future-product news in here. At the Tokyo Motor Show in October, Honda will introduce the next-generation Jazz, known as the Fit in the US. Furthering Honda's plans to add electricity to its entire lineup, the new Jazz will feature an optional hybrid-electric powertrain, similar to the one in the CR-V Hybrid that we don't get in the US (yet, hopefully). Honda wishes to offer electrification across its full lineup in Europe by 2025, with the goal to electrify two-thirds of the global lineup by 2030.
The automaker will also make attempts to streamline its current cars to boost efficiency. Automotive News reports that Honda will reduce the number of model variants on global cars like the Civic , Accord and Fit by one-third over the next six years, citing comments from Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo. It's not cutting actual models, just reducing production complexity in order to keep costs in line. Hachigo didn't give further specifics at this time, so it's unclear just how much trimming will happen and where.
In addition to improving its efficiency, Honda will also roll out a new vehicle platform in the future. Called Honda Architecture for now, Automotive News reports that it will make its debut in a global vehicle set for debut in 2020. Like Toyota's TNGA platform, Honda Architecture will seek to simplify engineering in ways invisible to the consumer, but with immediately obvious financial benefits for the automaker itself. Thus far, there isn't a single car that moved to TNGA that we haven't reviewed and enjoyed more than its predecessor, so if Honda can capture even a sliver of that magic, the future looks mighty positive.
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