The partnership between General Motors and Honda has grown bigger and bigger over time. It started off as a collab to build two electric vehicles ,and it eventually became a full-on alliance in North America. Now, it’s expanding even further.
The two companies have announced that they will work on co-developing a series of affordable EVs based on a new global architecture that uses next-gen Ultium battery technology. GM and Honda are looking to enable the global production of millions of EVs—including compact crossovers—beginning 2027.
GM and Honda will also discuss possible collaboration opportunities with regards to EV battery technology to help bring down electrification costs as well as improve the performance and sustainability of future vehicles.
Currently, GM is working on accelerating lithium-metal, silicon, and solid-state batteries. Honda, meanwhile, is making continuous progress with its all-solid-state batteries—it has established a demo line in Japan for the technology and is now moving towards mass production.
ALSO READ:
Fines, payments, schedule: Your complete guide to the number coding scheme
We jump the gun and render the next-generation Honda CR-V
Executives on the GM-Honda partnership
“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 GM chair and CEO Mary Barra. “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 US 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 Honda president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe. “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 Honda senior managing executive officer Shinji Aoyama. “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 foundations of this project, utilizing our global scale to enable a lower cost foundation for this new series of EVs for millions of customers,” said GM Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain executive vice president Doug Parks. “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 two million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025.”
