When carmakers say that they will move to all-electric vehicles, thoughts of boring automobiles come to mind. That is probably the case with Honda, which announced the shift to a zero-emission product range by 2040. However, the company says that it is not letting go of its sporting heritage entirely.

Honda’s transition away from internal-combustion engines is a rather complex process. To make the story short, the firm will be doing the following to make sure it achieves its goal without delay:

• Reduce the number of trim levels for global models;
• Introduce a variety of zero-emission solutions such as hydrogen and swappable batteries; and
• Reorganize current product organizations into specialized core divisions.

Honda is also currently exploring the possibility of building its own factory to supply batteries to its future crop of EVs. In the meantime, it will partner with various local suppliers to provide cells for its upcoming crop of products (General Motors in the US, Contemporary Amperex Technology Company in China, and Envision AESC in Japan).

Speaking of EVs, Honda will debut two electric SUVs in the US in 2024 (the Prologue and its equivalent Acura model). In the same year, a commercial EV model will be introduced in Japan. As for China, it will receive 10 new EV models in 2027.

Standardization is one way to reduce operating and production costs, and 2026 will see the introduction of the e:Architecture in partnership with GM. This will allow Honda to create a wide variety of EV models ranging from electric kei cars to luxury vehicles in 2030.

Speaking of the model range, it will be capped by not just one but two sports models. With the recent end in the production of the NSX hybrid supercar, it will be interesting to see Honda’s take on a fun-to-drive zero-emission vehicle.