TOKYO, Jun 06, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Today Lexus unveiled its exhibit at the 2022 edition of Milan Design Week, showcasing the...

TOKYO, Mar 4, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Sony Group Corporation ("Sony") and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. ("Honda") today announced that they have agreed to deepen discussion and exploration of forming a strategic alliance that aims to create a new era of mobility and mobility services. Specifically, the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines their intent to establish a joint venture ("New Company") through which they plan to engage in the joint development and sales of high value-added battery electric vehicles (EVs) and commercialize them in conjunction with providing mobility services.

The two companies will proceed with negotiations toward executing various definitive binding agreements, including a joint development agreement and a joint venture agreement, with a goal of establishing the New Company within 2022, subject to execution of the definitive agreements and relevant regulatory approvals.

This alliance aims to bring together Honda's mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience cultivated over many years, with Sony's expertise in the development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network, and entertainment technologies, to realize a new generation of mobility and services that are closely aligned with users and the environment, and continue to evolve going forward.

Sales of the first EV model from the New Company are expected to start in 2025. The New Company is expected to plan, design, develop, and sell the EVs, but not own and operate manufacturing facilities, so Honda is expected to be responsible for manufacturing the first EV model at its vehicle manufacturing plant. It is expected that a mobility service platform will be developed by Sony and made available for the New Company.

Comment from Kenichiro Yoshida, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman,
President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation

"Sony's Purpose is to "fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology." Through this alliance with Honda, which has accumulated extensive global experience and achievements in the automobile industry over many years and continues to make revolutionary advancements in this field, we intend to build on our vision to 'make the mobility space an emotional one,' and contribute to the evolution of mobility centered around safety, entertainment and adaptability."

Comment from Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Representative Executive Officer and CEO, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

"The New Company will aim to stand at the forefront of innovation, evolution, and expansion of mobility around the world, by taking a broad and ambitious approach to creating value that exceeds the expectations and imagination of customers. We will do so by leveraging Honda's cutting-edge technology and know-how in relation to the environment and safety, while aligning the technological assets of both companies. Although Sony and Honda are companies that share many historical and cultural similarities, our areas of technological expertise are very different. Therefore, I believe this alliance which brings together the strengths of our two companies offers great possibilities for the future of mobility."


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comSony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that they have agreed to deepen discussion and exploration of forming a strategic alliance that aims to create a new era of mobility and mobility services.

TOKYO, Mar 4, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that the company will issue U.S. dollar-denominated Green Bonds totaling US$2.75 billion for its initiatives toward the realization of a society that aims for zero environmental impact. The proceeds from the issuance of the Green Bonds will be used exclusively toward environmental initiatives(1). This will be the first time for Honda Motor Co., Ltd. to issue Green Bonds.
Since its founding in 1948, Honda has been conducting its corporate activities based on its original desire to "help people and society" and "expand people's life's potential." In light of changes happening to our society, Honda believes that working in pursuit of the "elimination of its environmental impact" and "realization of safety protecting precious human lives" are values Honda should provide in the future. Based on this belief, Honda has been working comprehensively to address challenges in the areas of the environment and safety. In the area of the environment, Honda is striving to realize carbon neutrality (net-zero CO2 emissions) for all products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050.

By allocating the proceeds from the issuance of the Green Bonds to eligible green projects including the development of zero-emission vehicles such as EVs and FCVs, Honda will further accelerate its initiatives toward the realization of a society that aims for zero environmental impact.

(1) Projects that fit within the eligible Green Projects categories specified in the Honda Sustainable Finance Framework.
(2) For the issuance of these Green Bonds, Honda has developed a Sustainable Finance Framework (the "Framework") and obtained a Second Party Opinion from Vigeo Eiris, an independent entity, that the Framework is aligned with the Green Bond Principles 2021 (the "GBP"), the Social Bond Principles 2021 (the "SBP"), and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021 (the "SBG") as administered by the International Capital Market Association ("ICMA").
- Honda Sustainable Finance Framework: URL:
https://global.honda/investors/stock_bond/rating_bond.html
- Second Party Opinion provided by Vigeo Eiris: URL:
https://vigeo-eiris.com/spo_honda_sustainable_framework

This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The securities described herein have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority, nor has any such authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the shelf registration statement, the base prospectus contained therein or the supplements to the base prospectus.


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comHonda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that the company will issue U.S. dollar-denominated Green Bonds totaling US$2.75 billion for its initiatives toward the realization of a society that aims for zero environmental impact.

TOKYO, Jan 19, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - As part of the next step into the energy management business, Honda is partnering with the V2X Suisse consortium to demonstrate the vital role of electric vehicles (EVs) and bi-directional charging technology in the future of energy management.

Honda will supply 50 Honda e electric vehicles to Switzerland's car sharing operator, Mobility. The Honda e units will be used as part of a car sharing fleet in a pioneering trial which uses the Honda e's bi-directional charging function to feed energy back to the grid when the vehicles are not in use for sharing. To allow bi-directional charging, Honda is also providing 35 Honda Power Manager units. These will deliver vehicle-to-grid (V2G) energy recovery capability for Mobility, at various urban and suburban sites across Switzerland.

The V2X Suisse trial includes the world's first mass-deployment of the COMBO-CCS (Combined Charging System) configuration with bi-directional functionality: currently Honda e is the only electric vehicle in the European market to allow both charging and discharging, as standard, for the European charging system CCS, making the Honda e the perfect vehicle to join the fleet.

Honda Power Manager is a bi-directional system that connects EVs to a power grid, enabling the collection and distribution of electricity between the two. This allows for intelligent balancing of the supply and demand of energy, including the better use of renewable sources and supports the stabilisation of the grid.

In this project, a total of 50 Honda e units will be allocated to 40 stations across Switzerland. A single Honda e can feed up to 20 kilowatts of power back into the grid when plugged into a bi-directional charging station. This not only regulates power to stabilise the grid during periods of high demand and minimise bottlenecks in the distribution of energy, but also reduces the need for expensive grid expansions as demand for EV charging increases.

Using a cloud-to-cloud IT platform developed by fellow consortium member sun2wheel, the Honda Power Manager units can manage the available power for each EV in 15 minute cycles to assess and regulate the flow of electricity. The scheme will enable Honda to verify the relationship between vehicle usage frequency and V2G operation, actual V2G operation time and frequency, and how this impacts on customer convenience.

Honda aims to create a sustainable society with zero environmental impact by connecting electrified mobility products and energy services, whilst contributing to the 'freedom of mobility' and 'expanding the use of renewable energy'. Not only the smart electric car, but innovations such as the bi-directional Honda Power Manager charging system will become increasingly important in a future carbon neutral society where both EVs and the use of renewable energy will become commonplace.

Through a real-world demonstration, Honda can conduct data collection and analysis of car sharing and V2G battery energy services, which will lead to the development of Honda's future energy services.

The actual demonstration of this project will start from September 2022, and will run until the end of 2023, includes consortium members Mobility, EVTEC, sun2wheel, tiko, Novatlantis and ETH Zurich, and is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comAs part of the next step into the energy management business, Honda is partnering with the V2X Suisse consortium to demonstrate the vital role of electric vehicles (EVs) and bi-directional charging technology in the future of energy management.

TOKYO, Jan 19, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that, in December 2021, the company signed a joint development agreement in the area of Lithium-Metal secondary batteries(1) with SES Holdings Pte. Ltd.("SES"), a U.S. (Boston)-based EV battery research and development company.

Moreover, SES plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction, and through the PIPE (private investment in public equity) offering by the SPAC, Honda plans to acquire approximately 2% of the shares of SES AI Corporation, the company to be listed on NYSE(2)(3).

The battery is a crucial component of battery electric vehicles (EV) and Honda, which is accelerating electrification of its products on a global basis, has been concurrently looking into several options for next-generation batteries, including the all-solid-state batteries Honda is developing independently. This joint development agreement with SES is part of the overall battery strategy of Honda.

From here onward, Honda and SES will pursue joint research for the realization of safe, high-durability and high-capacity next-generation EV batteries.

Comments by Shinji Aoyama, Managing Executive Officer in Charge of Electrification, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., "The battery is an essential component of EVs, and Honda has been concurrently looking into several options toward the realization of high-capacity, safe and low-cost next-generation batteries. Recognizing the advanced technologies of SES, Honda signed a joint development agreement with SES with the aim to establish a good relationship with SES and expeditiously generate substantial achievements through our joint research activities. Honda will continue to establish collaborative relationships with companies which have advanced technologies, as needed, to offer highly-competitive and attractive EVs to our customers."

(1) Batteries with Lithium-Metal anode, which are expected to realize higher energy density than Lithium-ion batteries (which usually use carbon-based materials for the anode).
(2) On October 22, 2021, Honda signed a PIPE subscription agreement with Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp. ("Ivanhoe"), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the NYSE, pursuant to which Honda is scheduled to acquire shares of Ivanhoe on the day of the merger between SES and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ivanhoe, with SES the surviving entity ("the merger"), prior to the completion of the merger. Ivanhoe, which will wholly own SES, plans to change its name to SES AI Corporation prior to the completion of the merger. Fulfillment of all prerequisites for the execution of the merger, including approval of SES and Ivanhoe shareholders, is a prerequisite for the stock purchase by Honda.
(3) The shareholding percentage above is based on the assumption that the shareholders of Ivanhoe will not exercise their redemption rights.


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comHonda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that, in December 2021, the company signed a joint development agreement in the area of Lithium-Metal secondary batteries(1) with SES Holdings Pte. Ltd.(SES), a U.S. (Boston)-based EV battery research and development company.