GM and Honda Will Codevelop Affordable EVs Targeting the World’s Most Popular Vehicle Segments.
- New EV series expected to go on sale in 2027 starting in North America
- Honda and GM collaboration designed to enable global production of millions of EVs
- Companies will explore opportunities for advanced battery collaboration
DETROIT / TOKYO –
GM (NYSE: GM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) announced earlier this month that they will co-develop a series of cheap electric vehicles based on a new global design and next-generation Ultium battery technology as part of a new chapter in their relationship.
The two businesses are collaborating to enable global manufacture of millions of electric vehicles, particularly tiny crossovers, starting in 2027, by combining their technology, design, and sourcing methods. The firms will also collaborate to standardize equipment and processes in order to achieve world-class quality, increased throughput, and lower costs. With yearly sales of more than 13 million vehicles, the compact crossover market is the world’s largest.
In addition, GM and Honda will examine future EV battery technology collaboration potential in order to lower the cost of electrification, increase performance, and ensure future vehicle sustainability.
GM is already striving to advance new technologies such as lithium-metal, silicon, and solid-state batteries, as well as manufacturing methods that can be used to quickly upgrade and update battery cell manufacturing processes. Honda is making headway with its all-solid-state battery technology, which it regards as a key component of future electric vehicles. Honda has set up a demonstration line for all-solid-state batteries in Japan and is moving closer to mainstream manufacturing.
“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. “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.”
“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. “Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles.”
“The progress we have made with GM since we announced the EV battery development collaboration in 2018, followed by co-development of electric vehicles including the Honda Prologue, has demonstrated the win-win relationship that can create new value for our customers,” said Shinji Aoyama, Honda senior managing executive officer. “This new series of affordable EVs will build on this relationship by leveraging our strength in the development and production of high quality, compact class vehicles.”
“Our collaboration with Honda and the continuing development of Ultium are the foundation of this project, utilizing our global scale to enable a lower cost foundation for this new series of EVs for millions of customers,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “Our plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025.”