Launched in 2020, the Honda is the company’s first pure EV.
Photo by Peter Lyon
On April 1, Honda will get a new CEO. And no, this is not April Fools joke. At a press conference quickly recorded inside the company’s Tokyo headquarters today, current CEO Takahiro Hashigo appeared in front of a small group of media outlets, with hundreds listening in online, to announce he would be retiring as chief executive and handing over to Toshihiro Mibe in early April.
Honda has tapped Mibe, the head of its research and development branch as the company’s new president, to accelerate the company’s move into EVs and further develop its partnership with General Motors . The move comes in good time as Honda needs a major injection into its EV division, having just launched Honda, its first EV production, a small town car with a limited range of 137-miles and a price tag of about $ 42,000 excluding government subsidies.
Toshihiro Mibe will be the new CEO of Honda on April 1st.
Image courtesy of Honda
Mibe will take the reins after six years under Hashigo which closed factories, cut back on models and rebuilt the company’s R&D department. These policies cut costs and allowed Honda to make a profit even at the height of the pandemic. The company forecasts a net profit of 465 billion yen, or $ 4.43 billion in the year to March 31.
Currently in charge of research and development, the 59-year-old Mibe joined Honda in 1987 and was slated to take over the top job after leading Honda’s alliances with GM and a leading battery manufacturer China Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. In September, 2020, Honda formed an alliance with GM to collaborate in car related research and services. Then, as one of Hashigo’s final big decisions, Honda announced that it was pulling out of Formula One racing, and in doing so, redistributing those resources to ‘consolidating its EV and fuel cell programs.
Over the past decade, Mibe has been heavily involved in Honda’s strategy for connected, autonomous, shared and electric vehicles. This CASE technology is a vital part of today’s industry and encourages the bulk of investment.
“Mibe has rare energy and has worked on both EVs and hybrid vehicles, so it has the potential to take over,” a point Hashigo stressed at the press conference.
Responding to Hashigo, Mibe said he enjoys a challenge. “Of course, I agreed to take on the high role as I am excited about the challenges involved. My inspiration comes from the difficulties we are facing now, especially with the pandemic and the once-in-a-lifetime business move towards EVs and self-driving, ” he said.
“It’s not enough to come up with products that we call EVs,” Mibe said. “We need to push our efforts to make it a viable business.” Honda has said that two – thirds of its sales will focus on electrification – EVs and hybrids – by 2030. According to one source close to Honda, if anyone can achieve that goal, Mibe can.