Honda places its chances on autonomous driving and AI for future comprehensive mobility solutions

25 Oct 2023 , 01:31 PM

According to Honda Motor Company President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe, the Japanese auto giant is placing a significant bet on emerging technologies like autonomous driving and generative AI in order to help people transcend limitations like time and location in the future while offering comprehensive mobility solutions. 

Honda, GM, and Cruise intend to establish a driverless ride-hailing service utilizing the vehicle in Japan in early 2026 together with the ‘Honda CI-MEV’ self-driving micro-mobility vehicle for last-mile mobility. Mibe introduced the autonomous Cruise Origin at the Japan Mobility Show here.

The business also introduced the Prelude Concept electric sports car, which the CEO claimed ‘will become the prelude for our future models’ of sporty cars.

‘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 stated in his speech.

These two principles are the cornerstones of every mobility product and service Honda has provided over the past 75 years since its founding, and they are the principles Honda intends to uphold both today and in the future.

In reference to Honda’s autonomous vehicle, ‘Cruise Origin,’ he claimed that it would help people transcend the limitations of time because it could be used for anything, including holding meetings or spending time with family without having to worry about other passengers.

‘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 stated.

He said that Honda is using generative AI to power its ‘dream mobility’ as well.

He added that generative AI will produce concept drawings of future mobility during the ongoing Japan Mobility Show. ‘At Honda, we began using generative AI to support the ability of our designers to demonstrate their creativity,’ he stated.

Honda has always been committed to making sporty automobiles, Mibe said while revealing the brand’s electric sports car Prelude Concept. Additionally, a ‘prelude’ is a performance that comes before another. This model will serve as the foundation for our upcoming models, which will carry Honda’s unwavering sports mentality into a fully electrified future and inherit the ‘joy of driving.’

Honda also displayed its SUSTAINA-C Concept automobile, which is built of recyclable and reusable acrylic resin.

The Japanese company also displayed the Honda eVTOL, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, as well as the HondaJet, with the goal of enabling people to travel more freely and smoothly on land, in the water, and in the air by fusing these aircraft with mobility devices on the ground.

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