Traditional automakers are moving to begin producing their first few electric vehicles (EVs), and a new partnership between two manufacturers is expected to produce millions of affordable EVs within the decade.
General Motors (GM) and Honda plan to partner on the development of a line of affordable EVs starting in 2027, according to the automakers.
The vehicle manufacturers expect the joint project to produce “millions” of EVs, with a particular focus on compact crossovers.
“GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China,” said Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO, in a statement. “This is a key step to deliver on our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in our global products and operations by 2040 and eliminate tailpipe emissions from light duty vehicles in the U.S. by 2035. By working together, we’ll put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own.”
In addition, the vehicles will be based on a brand new architecture platform, based largely on GM’s Ultium drivetrain.
“Honda is committed to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050, which requires driving down the cost of electric vehicles to make EV ownership possible for the greatest number of customers,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda president & CEO, in a statement. “Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles.”
Honda and GM said they would include EV compact crossovers; they emphasized the segment is the largest in the world at 13 million cars sold annually. The automakers are also considering how to split up production between the two.
Honda also announced a partnership with Sony to develop EVs by 2025 last month, and the automaker announced plans to build a $3.4 billion EV battery plant in conjunction with LG Chem in January.
Last month, GM announced plans to build a $400 million battery materials plant in Canada, in order to process cathode material for EV batteries.
