Honda vows to exclusively make emissions-free vehicles by 2040

Honda vowed to exclusively sell battery-electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles by 2040 in its three major markets of North America, China and Japan, said its CEO, Toshihiro Mibe.

While the Japanese automaker is not a major player in Europe, tougher environmental rules in the continent will probably force it to sell only emissions-free vehicles there.

Honda expects to sell 40 percent emissions-free vehicles globally by 2030, and 80 percent by 2035.

Various governments would require either plug-in hybrids or emissions-free cars in the future, prompting virtually all automakers to ramp up production plans for electric vehicles.

Automakers also have an economic motive to make the switch to electric cars because of their fewer moving parts, requiring less labor and therefore cheaper to build.

Honda's announcement came after General Motors revealed plans to sell only emissions-free cars by 2035. Ford said it would exclusively sell electric passenger cars in Europe by 2030, while Volvo would go fully electric worldwide by 2030.