The increase in the ratio of hybridization of Japanese cars has seen a significant increase in speed. Gas-electric hybrid vehicles are currently the most important electrification path for Japanese car companies.

　　According to the latest data released by Honda Motor, its terminal sales in the Chinese market in June 2021 were 118,168 units, a decrease of 17.0% from the same period last year. This is also the first double-digit decline in monthly sales of Honda in China since 2021.

　　From January to April, the year-on-year growth rates were 4.8%, 722.5%, 150.2%, and 31.7%, respectively. In May, they fell by 4.1% year-on-year, marking the first decline this year.

　　According to Honda, the reason for the sharp decline in sales in June is due to the shortage of parts, especially semiconductor chips. Although the main models such as CR-V and Accord still maintain sales growth, they have not been able to overcome the overall downward trend.

　　In the two joint venture companies. Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. will sell 57,641 vehicles in June 2021. Dongfeng Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s terminal sales in June 2021 were 60,527 units, which were all lower than the level of the same period of the previous year.

　　But this does not mean that Honda's sales in China have no bright spots.

　　The first is cumulative sales.

　　In the first half of 2021, Honda’s cumulative sales of terminal vehicles in China were 786,535 units, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%. Among them, Guangqi Honda and Dongfeng Honda have 364,624 and 421,911 vehicles respectively.

　　Of course, such high growth is also due to the base of comparison. Affected by the epidemic last year, the sales volume of China's auto market severely shrank from February to April, so the comparison base was low.

　　Another highlight is the hybrid car. Honda models equipped with SPORT HYBRID (sharp and hybrid) high-efficiency dual-motor hybrid power system, domestic terminal sales in June this year totaled 19,927 units, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year, and continued to rise despite Honda's overall decline; hybrid vehicles in the first half of the year Cumulative sales reached 116,804 units, a sharp increase of 61.2% year-on-year.

　　If the proportion of hybrid vehicles' contribution to Honda's sales in China is calculated, it was 14.9% in the first half of this year, and it was even as high as 16.9% in June, which is expected to hit the 20% mark in the next two years. Previously, only Japanese luxury brands like Lexus had such a ratio (the current Lexus hybrid sales accounted for 30%).

　　For comparison, in June 2020, hybrid vehicles accounted for 13.0% of Honda's sales in China.

　　With the advancement of electrification in the automotive industry, Japanese brands represented by Liangtian have started the hybrid wave. Nissan e-Power and many independent brands have followed up, and a large number of main models have been hybridized, and even all hybrids have appeared (such as Honda Odyssey). And Alison has only mixed sales for many months).

　　In the future, will there be a hybrid-based or even hybrid-based brand for all models? In the face of development trends, the answer is likely to be "yes."