Honda unveils new electric brand to boost China sales
The new Honda Motor electric brand 'Ye' is unveiled at a ceremony on Tuesday.
Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, plans to rely on a new EV brand to boost sales of electric vehicles in China, marking its acceleration in electrification with a specific focus on the Chinese market.
The new Honda Motor electric brand "Ye (烨)" made its global debut on Tuesday, highlighted by the new logo "H" designed exclusively for its new EV series as well as the application of new intelligent pure electric architecture ("Architecture W").
To cater to the needs of Chinese consumers, Honda hires a Chinese-led research and development team with the average age of its members only 32.
The new brand now has three models, the Ye GT Concept, positioned as a high-end coupe, is expected to be launched in 2025, while P7 and S7 as SUVs are expected to be available by the end of this year.
Partnered with CATL and Huawei, two of China's biggest suppliers in the NEV industry, P7 and S7 will be equipped with batteries from CATL, and the GT with Huawei's light field screens.
Honda's new 'H' logo was designed exclusively for its new EV series.
Honda also announced that it will launch six new models under the "Ye" brand by 2027, as well as 10 Honda-branded electric vehicle models to achieve their goal of having 100 percent of their vehicle sales in China be purely electric by 2035.
Honda and its rival Nissan Motor announced last month that they are considering collaborating on key components and software to face growing competition from Chinese EV makers.
In 2023, China's annual automobile production and sales totaled 30.2 million units and 30 million units, up 11.6 percent and 12 percent year on year, ranking top for 15 consecutive years worldwide. Sales of China's NEVs turned to 9.495 million units, with a market share of 31.6 percent, according to official statistics.
The 'Ye' GT Concept will be equipped with light field screens by Huawei.
