General Motors and Honda have a new joint project beyond the development of fuel cells, the Cruise Origin (a six-passenger electric autonomous pod for ride sharing), and battery module work. The two automakers will this time be developing two new electric vehicles for Honda to go on sale for the 2024 model year in the U.S. and Canada. We don’t yet know what form the Honda EVs will take (the brand’s current Clarity EV, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell lineup is pictured above—well, most of it is, since the EV was just killed).
Honda will design the next-generation electric vehicles, both inside and out, but they will use GM’s new global EV platform to take advantage of the greater scale which reduces cost. That includes using the Ultium batteries that GM has developed for its own slew of electric vehicles planned including the Cadillac Celestiq flagship and GMC Hummer electric pickup (which we’ve rendered, below). GM has said the batteries will provide a range of 400 miles or more, with a fast charge that provides more than 100 miles in 10 minutes.
GM is also installing more capacity in plants to make electric vehicles and will build the new Honda EVs at one of its facilities in North America. One candidate is the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where GM is dropping a cool $2.2 billion to retool it to build its first new electric pickups there by the end of 2021. GM will engineer the Honda vehicles to the Japanese specs so they drive like you’d expect a Honda to.
“This collaboration will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers,” said Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., in a statement. The economies of scale will allow Honda to ramp up its electrification plans faster, he said.
And it might not end with the two vehicles planned. “We are in discussions with one another regarding the possibility of further extending our partnership,” Schostek said.
From the GM side, the agreement further builds on its partnership with Honda and validates GM’s Ultium batteries and new EV platform, said Doug Parks, executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “Importantly, it is another step on our journey to an all-electric future and delivering a profitable EV business through increased scale and capacity utilization. We have a terrific history of working closely with Honda, and this new collaboration builds on our relationship and like-minded objectives.”
Recently GM Mary Barra outlined some of the products and plans underway as GM amps up its focus on electric vehicles. Barra said the vehicles coming, from the compact Chevrolet Bolt to the Hummer and large Chevrolet SUVs, will be profitable.
Besides nabbing access to GM’s electric-car platform, Honda will also use GM’s OnStar services in the new EVs, integrating them with its own HondaLink connectivity system. Honda will also be allowed to use GM’s Super Cruise hands-free advanced driver-assist technology.
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