Honda bets on Canada with 'historic' EV investment
Honda Motor unveiled on Thursday plans to invest CAD 15 billion ($11 billion) to build what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as the first comprehensive EV value chain in Canada.
This will include all aspects of EV production, from the procurement of raw materials – mainly for batteries – to the production of finished EVs, Toshihiro Mibe, global chief executive of Honda, said at a press conference.
Trudeau noted this is “the largest auto investment in Canada’s history.”
Honda says it is evaluating the requirements to build an environmentally responsible EV plant and a stand-alone EV battery plant in Alliston, Ontario. Canada was selected due to its deposits of natural resources and its rollout of green energy.
The proposed EV value chain will also include a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with South Korean group, POSCO Future M Co., and a separator plant through another JV with Asahi Kasei Corporation.
Production is expected to begin in 2028, with a capacity of 240,000 EVs per year. The cars will be powered by batteries produced in a 36-gigawatt-hour gigafactory, though details on potential partners and start-up timeline weren’t revealed.
Together, the four new plants will create 1,000 manufacturing jobs, on top of construction jobs and business for auto parts suppliers, Kallanish reports.
It will also help Canada reach its climate targets, including the requirement that all new passenger cars, SUVs, and light trucks for sale must be zero-emission by 2035.
Honda previously pledged to sell 100% EVs by 2040.
North America is the largest market for the Japanese carmaker, which has established its auto production in Ohio as its EV hub. Its recent efforts include an investment of $700 million to retool existing plants, and the construction of a joint venture EV battery plant with LG Energy Solution – with an expected investment of $4.4 billion.
Earlier on Thursday, Honda had announced plans to collaborate with Asahi Kasei on the production of battery separators for automotive batteries in Ontario.
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