Honda ends collaboration with GM on affordable electric vehicles

author: FutureCar Staff    

Fans of cheaper electric vehicles received disappointing news as the planned collaboration between Honda and General Motors on a range of affordable EVs has been canceled. The joint project, which was announced in April 2022, aimed to develop a new platform for lower-cost EVs in North America, South America, and China, with cars expected to be available in 2027. However, on Thursday, both companies announced that the plan has been abandoned.

In a joint statement, Honda and GM said, "After extensive studies and analysis, we have come to a mutual decision to discontinue the program. Each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market." Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe further explained in an interview with Bloomberg, "After studying this for a year, we decided that this would be difficult as a business, so at the moment we are ending development of an affordable EV. GM and Honda will search for a solution separately. This project itself has been canceled."

The platform that was canceled was intended to utilize GM's Ultium batteries. GM introduced Ultium in 2020 as its third-generation lithium-ion cell, developed in collaboration with LG Chem. GM CEO Mary Barra had previously stated that Ultium cells would drop below the $100/kWh barrier "early in the platform's life." The first Ultium-based EVs, including the GMC Hummer EV, the Cadillac Lyriq, and the BrightDrop Zevo 600, went into production in 2022.

Despite claims of readiness for mass production, GM and LG Chem have been facing challenges in making Ultium cells a reality. GM had to halt BrightDrop's production line in Canada in July due to a shortage of battery cells. Sales data from Kelly Blue Book for the first three quarters of 2023 revealed that only 6,920 Ultium-based EVs, which include the Chevrolet Blazer and Silverado EV, as well as the Hummer, Lyriq, and BrightDrop van, were delivered to customers. In comparison, Chevrolet sold 49,494 Bolts, which use an older and more expensive battery chemistry, during the same period.

GM attributed the Ultium bottleneck to an unspecified "automation equipment supplier." However, despite the cancellation of the affordable EV project, Honda and GM are still collaborating on other joint ventures. The Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, two electric crossovers, will still be developed using the same platform as the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer. These vehicles will also feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which GM controversially plans to eliminate from its cars starting in model year 2024.

Additionally, GM and Honda are partners, along with BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, in a new North American fast-charging network. The seven OEMs have plans to deploy 30,000 fast chargers in the US and Canada, starting in 2024.

In a surprising turn of events, Honda announced another collaboration with GM today. In 2026, Honda plans to launch a robotaxi service in Japan using the Cruise Origin, an autonomous electric vehicle developed by the GM-backed AV company. However, this announcement comes at an unfortunate time as news broke that California has suspended Cruise's permission to operate AVs following a tragic incident in San Francisco where a pedestrian was hit and dragged by a Cruise AV after already being struck by another car.

FutureCar Staff