Honda Motors And GM To Launch Driverless Ridehail Service By 2026

GM and Cruise are planning to launch a driverless ridehail service using the Cruise Origin in Japan in early 2026. Honda eVTOL and HondaJet will expand the mobility three-dimensionally into the skies and enable people to transcend the constraints of place and distance, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Honda Motors said.

Aggressing a gathering he said when we can combine these aircraft with mobility systems on the ground and enable people to travel more freely and seamlessly on the ground, in the ocean and in the skies, the hurdles people face in long-distance traveling will be lowered. This would make it easier for people to live in a nature-rich suburban area and work in the cities only when necessary. This could be described as “transcending the constraints of place and distance.”

He said new mobility products and services will enable people to do things that were not possible before.

Addressing a gathering here at the Japan Mobility Show 2023, Mibe said, “By using new mobility products and services at the will of the user, we can go faster and farther. We can go to places where we cannot get to only with human ability. New mobility products and services will enable people to do things that were not possible before. That is the value of “augmenting people’s possibilities.”

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.” 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.

Speaking about the passion behind the brand slogan, he said that Honda is celebrating its 75th anniversary. When we look back on our history of offering a wide range of value to our customers and society as a manufacturer of mobility products, we can say that Honda has grown to this point while always being driven by “dreams,” and taking on challenges to realize what was thought to be impossible.

The Power of Dreams – How we move you. – This is the Honda Global Brand Slogan, which conveys the message that the dreams of each and every one working at Honda have always been the driving force of Honda, and a variety of mobility products and services Honda creates with such power of dreams will move people physically, move people’s hearts, and help many people realize their dreams so that there will be an expanse of dreams toward the future, he added.

Cruise Origin Autonomous Vehicle

Since the interior space of this vehicle can be completely private, the 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. This vehicle will indeed let us transcend the constraints of time. Time is an absolute constraint for most people. Mobility products and services which enable people to use the limited time given equally to all people – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – more efficiently for more meaningful things, will offer a tremendous value for people.

SUSTAINA-C Concept 

This SUSTAINA-C Concept is a car made of acrylic resin that is recycled and reused. This kind of resource circulation will enable us to transcend the constraints of the limited availability of resources, and achieve both environmental sustainability and the joy and freedom of mobility long into the future.

Honda Avatar Robot And UNI-ONE

By logging in and remotely controlling Honda Avatar Robot in a distant location, we can perform tasks and experience things remotely as if we are there in person. The use of Honda Avatar Robot will enable all people, including those who have limited mobility due to various constraints, to play active roles from a remote location. And this UNI-ONE is a mobility device the user can steer simply by shifting their body weight while sitting without using hands and thus perform certain tasks while moving. The UNI-ONE will expand opportunities for users with mobility challenges.

Honda CI-MEV

As people get older, driving and walking might become difficult. And there are people who live in areas where no public transportation is available. Such people tend to have a limited living radius. If there are products that offer easily-accessible, last-mile mobility, people can go places, farther, faster and more casually. And if everyone can enjoy mobility more freely and expand their living radius, they will have more chance to meet new people, which we believe will augment people’s possibilities.

“I could only introduce so many, but there are many other items on display at the Honda booth, please enjoy looking at all of them, which represent the future Honda envisions!” he added.

He said that we are not only showcasing the future mobility Honda dreams of. We would like to invite visitors to our website or at the booth to participate in our Dream Loop.

“At Honda, we began using generative AI to support the ability of our designers to demonstrate their creativity. At this Japan Mobility Show, generative AI will generate design drawings of future mobility you dream of and project them on the “Loop Screen” inside our booth,” Mibe said.

My dream is to realize a world where mobility products bearing the Honda logo are traveling all around the world, on the ground, in the ocean, in the skies and into outer space, and people are enjoying the true freedom of mobility. So, let me input ideas of my dream mobility.

Like mine, your dream mobility will be visualized. We are thinking that, after the Show, we will select a few and have Honda designers work on them. Please come visit the Honda booth and have fun drawing your dream mobility, he added.

Conclusion: As people get older, driving and walking might become difficult. And there are people who live in areas where no public transportation is available. Such people tend to have a limited living radius. If there are products that offer easily-accessible, last-mile mobility, people can go places, farther, faster and more casually. And if everyone can enjoy mobility more freely and expand their living radius, they will have more chance to meet new people.