Despite reports that the electric car will be the only thing in the model program from 2040, Honda refuses to let the combustion engine die, so more new gasoline cars are on the way.
Honda has an ambitious goal of phasing out gasoline engines completely by 2040. But until then, the Japanese automaker refuses to let the combustion engine die.
Unlike Nissan , which has abandoned the development of gasoline engines, Honda is sticking with the technology. Honda is thus following in the footsteps of Toyota, Mazda and Subaru, all of which are currently focusing on hybrid cars.
Honda's strategy is based on the development of all-new 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engines specially designed for hybrid vehicles.
Reuters writes.
These engines all have direct injection and are designed to achieve the highest combustion efficiency in their class, if you ask the Japanese themselves.
The 1.5-liter gasoline engine is something Honda engineers are particularly proud of. The Japanese say it has become 40 percent more efficient than its predecessor.
The efficiency improvements aren't limited to the engine. Hybrid components will now be shared between the 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter engines, reducing costs and simplifying production. In addition, Honda is reducing weight with a lighter front-wheel drive.
The Japanese also already know where the new engines will be used. Namely for a new generation of platforms for mid-size cars. That is, cars the size of the Accord model.
Honda expects the platform to reduce weight by almost 90 kilograms. But at least as significantly, it will make it fifty percent cheaper to build an engine compared to the costs in 2018. Among other things, because the brand will use the same parts for the cars on 60 percent of the assembly lines.
In this way, the brand believes it can sell at least 1.3 million hybrid cars per year from 2030 until 2040, when it will phase out the combustion engine.
