GM and Honda plan to co-develop affordable EVs
Summary
- The two auto makers deepen strategic ties as they work to bring costly plug-in technology to the mass market
General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. plan to jointly develop a line of affordable electric vehicles, deepening strategic ties as they work to bring costly plug-in technology to the mass market.
GM and Honda said Tuesday they would work together on underlying technology that would be used to produce several electric models, including compact sport-utility vehicles, for North and South America and China. The first of the vehicles, which likely would be priced below $30,000 in the U.S., won’t be ready until 2027, the companies said.
The auto makers said splitting development expenses and working together to reduce battery costs—the costliest component of an EV—would allow them to drive down the price while producing electrics at scale globally. The new system eventually would be used in millions of cars sold by both companies, they said.
Car companies increasingly are joining forces on engineering projects, outside of mergers or cross-ownership deals, to defray the high costs of developing electric cars and other advanced technologies. The GM-Honda project extends work between the companies in other areas, including driverless cars.
Relatively high prices for electric cars remains a key hurdle to broader adoption. The average price of an EV in the U.S. is around $60,000, compared with about $45,000 for all vehicles, according to research website Edmunds.com. The large battery pack needed to power an EV can account for roughly one-third of overall cost.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
