R&D chief Masaaki Kato said that Honda Motor Company still has no plans to produce electric vehicles, despite all the hoopla surrounding the technology, Automotive News reports. He said the main reason is that today's battery technology still isn't ready for it, a view that contrasts sharply with the recent optimism expressed by Nissan, Toyota, and some other automakers.

"Nowadays, the most advanced batteries are lithium ion batteries. But even though the size is getting smaller, the density of the energy is still too poor for cars," Kato said in the article. "For personal use, an EV is fine for about 80 percent of your driving, but not for the remaining 20 percent." Kato said that to reach the driving range of, say, the gas-powered Honda Accord, they would need to fit two tons of batteries to the car, which obviously isn't possible or practical.

Recently, Honda unveiled the Insight concept (pictured, right) as a foreshadowing of the company's all-new, hybrid-only Prius fighter model due early next year.