GM Solidifies Partnership with Honda to Produce Affordable EVs
Almost 2 years ago to the date, General Motors announced that it would partner with Honda to develop and produce electric vehicles. Now, GM has solidified their partnership with the Japanese brand by committing to producing a new line of affordable electric vehicles that will be based on a new modular platform.
Two completely different companies working together is nothing new. GM and Ford collaborated a few years ago on the 10-speed automatic transmission that is used throughout many GM and Ford models. Toyota collaborated with Subaru on the GR86 and with BMW on the Supra. The reason behind so many collaborations is because of reduced development costs. It takes billions of dollars to develop, test, and produce a new vehicle. It costs even more when that vehicle is completely different from what the company already builds. So to prevent subsequent vehicle models from costing luxury car money, Honda & GM decided to join their development costs and bring affordable EVs to the market.
The two companies are planning to bring millions of EVs starting in 2027. Crossovers are going to be the most likely candidates of the types of vehicles but GM has already committed to building other types of EVs such as the upcoming Hummer EV and Silverado EV. The EVs will be based on GM’s Ultium battery technology which already allows for various configurations from small cars to big trucks.
With the partnership, the two companies can further work on developing new and better battery technologies. Honda is already developing solid-state batteries while GM is looking at producing lithium-metal and silicon batteries as well as new production methods aimed at reducing costs.
"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 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."
Neither Honda nor GM have said what pricing the new affordable EVs will have but Chevy has announced that the upcoming Equinox EV will have a starting price of around $30,000 USD. It would be a safe assumption that future Honda/GM EVs will have a similar price.
View our current EV inventory: www.eagleridgegm.com/all/fuel/Electric
Eagle Ridge GM – Coquitlam, British Columbia