Having expensively cancelled - and that at the very last minute - its much-hyped '0-Series' electric car plans, Honda is now licking its corporate wounds, and letting us see a glimpse of its more hybrid-focused future.
Does this new concept car have a catchy name?
Nope. Officially, this rather handsome new fastback four-door saloon is called the 'Hybrid Sedan Prototype', which is very definitely on the Ronseal end of car names. It's one of 15 new Honda hybrid models which will be launched globally in the next five years. The car has been shown off at a business briefing in Japan today, where Honda is trying to reassure investors following the company's first-ever annual financial loss.
Could this be a new Accord?
It might well be - certainly, there's a bit of styling similarity around the rear compared to the current US-market Accord - but it almost definitely won't be coming here. While Honda is speaking of global ambitions for its new hybrid-heavy approach, this saloon and the Acura-badged SUV shown alongside it are destined to be built in Honda's US factories, and they're quite large cars unlikely to appeal to a European audience.
"Honda will reallocate more development and production resources into hybrid models to accelerate the market launch ahead of the original schedule and increase the number of compelling products,” said Toshihiro Mibe, global CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. "We have made steady progress in the development of hybrid vehicle technologies, where Honda has strengths, based on our belief that hybrid models will continue to be the key to addressing environmental challenges.”
What's going to come to Europe, then?
Honda isn't laying out any precise new plans yet, but we are due to get a new HR-V by 2028, and that will be followed by a new Civic and a new CR-V. Presumably, now all will be hybrid-engined, with no full-EV option. We will get the cool little Super-N EV city car, but that's ultra-short-range.
Those hybrids should be more economical than current models (which are hardly what you'd call thirsty) with Honda targeting a ten per cent improvement in fuel economy, and a simultaneous 30 per cent reduction in the cost of making these hybrid engines, which may trickle through to some more aggressive pricing on Honda's part (as well as making the company more profitable again).
Honda's also promising a 'next-generation ADAS' system, which will bring advanced driver assistance systems, which the company claims will 'further advance a unique Honda driving experience.' There will also be an all-wheel drive hybrid option with an electrically driven rear axle, but that's not confirmed for Europe.
Will this plan actually work?
It might, but it very much remains to be seen. Honda has traditionally been a very conservative company, making big moves only when it's good and ready, so the recent announcement of its first-ever full-year financial loss will have come as something of a corporate shock. Is the rebound towards hybrid power a step too far, though?
Again, who knows? The recent spike in oil prices has driven a major surge in EV sales, at least in Europe, and we know that battery cars are definitely the future now. Honda's not backing away from EVs entirely, but it's certainly going to slow down their development, which might work well in the short term, but if electric sales pick up rapidly towards the end of the decade, it might equally end up being exposed.
Oddly, Mazda also announced this week that it's slowing down the pace of development of its next-generation electric cars, but unlike Honda's multi-billion-dollar write-down of sunk costs, Mazda says its change of plans - also to focus on hybrids, with the new SkyActiv-Z engine imminent - won't cost it a penny, as it hadn't committed major resources to EV development yet, and it already has some ready-to-go EVs - the Mazda 6e and CX-6e - thanks to a joint-venture with Chinese company Changan.