Honda is Developing Three New EV Platforms by 2030, Including One That Will Be Shared With GM, Executive Says

resource from: Reuters   

Japan's Honda Motor Co plans to ramp up its electric vehicle production, producing millions of EVs by 2030, a top executive at the company told Reuters on Thursday. The future electric models will be built on three new dedicated EV platforms, one of which will be shared by General Motors.

Shinji Aoyama, Honda's global head of electrification, told Reuters on Thursday that the company will launch an electric mini commercial vehicle in Japan in 2024 built on a new small EV platform. The second vehicle will be a full-size electric model for North America in 2026 that will be built on a larger EV platform. Both platforms will also be used for other models as well.

In the video call with Reuters, Aoyama said a third medium-size EV platform will be shared with General Motors starting in 2027.

Earlier this month, Honda and General Motors announced they will share their EV technology and jointly develop "affordable electric vehicles", but its still unclear what EV platforms the vehicles will use, or where the vehicles will be built.

The two automakers said they will work together to enable the global production of millions of EVs starting in 2027. The partnership will leverage the two companies' strengths in technology, design and supply chains. Honda and GM will co-develop new affordable electric vehicles in all segments, including passenger cars and SUVs. 

"Whether they will be based on Honda's architecture or on GM's platform has not been decided," Aoyama told Reuters. He said the vehicles "are going to share the bill of process" for manufacturing, meaning that they can be produced at a Honda or GM manufacturing plants.

Honda and GM are also co-developing an electric SUV for Honda's luxury brand Acura, as well as a multi-passenger autonomous shuttle called the Origin that will be used in a commercial robotaxi service being launched by GM's autonomous driving arm Cruise. 

"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 in early April when the plans were announced. "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. 

Honda only has two electrified vehicles in the U.S. But the company is looking to catch up in the EV segment with a massive investment of $40 billion over the next 10 years. The investment will be used to launch 30 all-electric vehicles globally by 2030.

GM is also building two premium electric SUVs for Honda in North America, starting in 2024, based on the dedicated EV platform that underpins GM's Cadillac Lyriq. One of these vehicles is the forthcoming Honda Prologue SUV that's set to launch in 2024. 

Honda expects that the electric Prologue will become a big seller in the U.S. The automaker is targeting annual sales of 70,000 units, which will make it a competitor to Tesla's popular Model Y and Ford's Mustang Mach-E.

Over the next 20 years, Honda plans to achieve 100% zero emission vehicles sales in North America, following other automakers like GM, Volvo and Volkswagen that plan to phase out internal combustion engine models as early as 2030. GM is targeting 2035 for 100% of its passenger vehicles to be zero emissions.

Aoyoma told Reuters that Honda is targeting North American production of 750,000-800,000 electric vehicles in 2030, and about the same in China, which is the world's biggest auto market. Honda plans to produce another 400,000-500,000 EVs in Japan and other markets.

Following the models co-developed with GM, Honda will introduce a series of electrified vehicles through 2030 based on its in-house developed "e-Architecture" EV platform. These vehicles will be built at various Honda plants in North America.

resource from: Reuters

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.