Honda to launch new scalable platform in 2020

Honda has announced that it will make a number of lineup changes from 2020 in a bid to streamline its global operations and increase its production efficiency to increase profits.

In addition to announcing that the company’s new electric car will be called ‘e’, and that the new Jazz small car will feature a hybrid drivetrain, the launch of a global platform is big news as Honda hasn’t yet launched a scalable platform. 

Central to Honda’s cost cutting is a new platform that will be launching in a new global model in 2020, possibly the next-generation of HR-V small SUV. Centre to the platform will be its ability to scale from small to large, allowing it to underpin a number of future models.

The current Honda Jazz will be replaced later this year.

The company said that the models based on the platform will share around 70 per cent of components that customers don’t see, including the engine bay and underfloor parts.

The new platform will reportedly help the company reduce the number of man-hours allocated to the development of cars by 30 per cent by 2025.

Also part of the new regime is increasing production efficiency is cutting the number of available global model trims and reorganising its production bases, particularly in North America. 

Future Honda products such as the Pilot SUV could be made in right-hand drive thanks to a new platform.

By 2025, the Jazz, Civic, Accord, HR-V and CR-V will represent one third of the brand’s available products, yet account for 60 per cent of the company’s global sales.

Will a new platform help Honda’s global sales? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.