Honda bets on autonomous driving, AI for holistic mobility solutions of future

PTI, Oct 25, 2023, 11:24 AM IST

PTI photo

Japanese auto major Honda Motor Company is betting big on new technologies such as autonomous driving and generative AI as it seeks to enable people to transcend various constraints such as time and place while providing holistic mobility solutions in future, company’s President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said on Wednesday.

At the Japan Mobility Show here, Mibe unveiled autonomous vehicle Cruise Origin, and together with GM and Cruise, Honda plans to launch a driverless ride hailing service using the vehicle in Japan in early 2026 along with ‘Honda CI-MEV’ self-driving micro-mobility vehicle for last-mile mobility.

Besides, the company also unveiled the electric sports car Prelude Concept, which he said, “will become the prelude for our future models” of sporty models.

“The mobility products and services that embody Honda’s dreams will enable people to ‘transcend various constraints such as time and place’ and to ‘augment their abilities and possibilities’,” Mibe said in his address.

Those two are essential values of all types of mobility products and services Honda has been offering for the past 75 years since its founding, and the value Honda wants to continue offering now and in the future, he added.

On Honda’s autonomous vehicle ‘Cruise Origin’, he said it will enable people to transcend the constraints of time as this vehicle can be completely private and users can use their travel time more freely, such as holding a meeting or having a fun time with the family without worrying about other people around them.

“Together with GM and Cruise, Honda is planning to launch a driverless ride hail service using the Cruise Origin, in Japan in early 2026,” Mibe added.

He said Honda is also creating its “dream mobility” through a generative AI-powered experience.

“At Honda, we began using generative AI to support the ability of our designers to demonstrate their creativity,” he said, adding, at the ongoing Japan Mobility Show, generative AI will generate design drawings of future mobility.

Unveiling the company’s electric sports car Prelude Concept, Mibe said,”Honda has always been committed to creating sporty vehicles. And the word ‘prelude’ means an ‘introductory or preceding performance’.

This model will become the prelude for our future models which will inherit the ‘joy of driving’ into the full-fledged electrified future and embody Honda’s unalterable sports mindset.” Honda also showcased its SUSTAINA-C Concept, a car made of acrylic resin that is recycled and reused.

Besides, the Japanese firm also showcased the ‘Honda eVTOL’, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and ‘HondaJet’ with its aim to enable people to travel more freely and seamlessly on the ground, ocean and in the skies by combining these aircraft with mobility systems on the ground.