Honda Fit EV

While Honda will produce a mere 1,100 Honda Fit EVs over the next three years, and only make them available as a lease, there are new signs that the company will be forthcoming with plug-in hybrids. I haven't seen any mention of production or sales targets—but regardless of official statements, most analysts dismiss posturing, and instead speak directly with suppliers to learn what automakers have in mind. Consider this: GS Yuasa Corporation, one of Honda's key lithium-ion battery suppliers, has revealed plans to crank up its battery output so that it can produce 300,000 lithium-powered cars.

If Honda President Takanobu Ito is looking for a car to bring driving fun to the company’s brand—his main message from the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show—he need look no further than the Fit EV. Last week, I was among the world’s first journalists to drive the compact pure electric car—in two six-minute jaunts around the Twin Ring Montegi grounds north of Tokyo—and was floored by the level of performance delivered by the all-electric Fit. I was just as amused to witness my colleagues on the press tour—made up almost entirely of writers for the horsepower-obsessed auto buff rags—step away from their drives, shaking their heads and picking their jaws off the pavement.

Honda’s display at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show is full of electric car concepts. Earlier this week, international journalists were given the opportunity to drive its impressive Fit EV pure battery electric car. So, when given the opportunity to ask a single question at yesterday’s press conference with Honda President Takanobu Ito at the Tokyo show, I tried to determine if the company’s man at the top has a vision for electric cars.