TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd has no plan to hive off its electric motorcycle business and list it on a stock exchange, the Japanese automaker said on Wednesday, following a media report that the idea was under consideration.
Honda, which dominates the global market for motorcycles, on Tuesday said it would launch more than 10 electric motorcycle models globally over the next three years, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality for two-wheelers by the 2040s. [inL1N30K03K]
The Wall Street Journal, citing managing officer Yoshihige Nomura, later reported that Honda was considering taking the electric motorcycle unit public.
“Electrification is a long road and we are discussing a variety of options without excluding anything from consideration. However, we have no plan to separate the electric two-wheeler business into a new business unit to be listed on a stock exchange,” Honda said in a statement.
Honda faces challenges in shifting to electric drive, as motorcycles are wildly popular in developing countries and the move to the new form of propulsion could increase prices for cost-sensitive consumers. It may also make motorcycles heavier.
(Reporting by Maki Shiraki; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bradley Perrett)
