Honda to build $11 billion electric vehicle hub in Canada

DEROIT
—


Honda
Motor
and
yet-to-be-named
joint
venture
partners
plan
to
invest
$11
billion
in
Ontario,
Canada,
to
create
a “comprehensive
EV
value
chain,”
the
Japanese
automaker
announced
Thursday.

The

company
said
the
new
North
American
electric
vehicle
epicenter
will
include
new
assembly
and
battery
plants
as
well
as
other
facilities
to
support
production
of
all-electric
and
fuel
cell-powered
vehicles.

Honda
said
vehicle
production
will
begin
in
2028,
with
annual
vehicle
capacity
of
240,000
units
once
it
is
fully
operational.
The
investment
in
Alliston,
Ontario,
is
expected
to
greatly
assist
in
Honda’s
goal
of
exclusively
offering
all-electric
and
fuel
cell-powered

vehicles
by
2040.

The
timing
of
the
investment
may
seem
odd
to
industry
onlookers
and
investors,
as
many
automakers
have

announced
pullbacks
in
their
all-electric
vehicle
plans
amid
slower-than-expected
adoption
of
EVs.

Honda
said
the
investment
is “for
a
future
increase
in
EV
demand
in
North
America,”
with
the
battery
plant
capable
of
producing
36
gigawatt
hours,
or
GWh,
per
year.

The
project
is
expected
to
create
as
least
1,000
new
jobs,
adding
to
the
4,200
employees
the
company
currently
has
at
its
two
existing
manufacturing
facilities
in
Ontario.

Prime
Minister
of
Canada
Justin
Trudeau
said
during
a
livestreamed
press
conference
on
Thursday
that
Honda’s
investment,
15
billion
Canadian
dollars,
is
the
largest
ever
for
the
country’s
automotive
industry.
The
company
is
expected
to
receive
upward
of
CA$2.5
billion
in
assistance
in
tax
credits
and
other
incentives
from
the
Canadian
government,
officials
said.

The
investment
is
a
major
win
for
Canada
and
comes
after
Honda
last
year
confirmed

a
$4.4
billion
investment
for
a
new
U.S.
battery
plant
in
Ohio.

“In
North
America,
following
the
initiative
to
establish
our
EV
production
system
capability
in
the
U.S.,
we
will
now
begin
formal
discussions
toward
the
establishment
of
a
comprehensive
EV
value
chain
here
in
Canada,
with
the
support
of
the
governments
of
Canada
and
Ontario,”
Honda
CEO
Toshihiro
Mibe
said
in
a
release. “We
will
strengthen
our
EV
supply
system
and
capability
with
an
eye
toward
a
future
increase
in
EV
demand
in
North
America.”

Honda
said
it
has “begun
the
process
of
evaluating
the
scope
of
its
investment
and
completing
negotiations
with
its
joint
venture
partners.”
Its
partner
in
the
U.S.
facility
is
LG
Energy
Solution.

The
company
said
it
expects
to
finalize
the
plans
over
the
next
six
months.