Honda And General Motors To Co-develop EVs Based On A Shared Platform

• New EVs to utilise powertrains juiced up by General Motors’ Ultium batteries.

• The partnership also includes future battery technology collaborations.

• Currently, the partnership is set to spawn the Honda Prologue in 2024, followed by Acura’s first all-electric SUV.

• Honda India is set to begin its electric journey with the City e:HEV Hybrid.

We know that back in April 2020, Honda and General Motors announced that they’ve partnered up to co-develop new Honda electric vehicles based on General Motors’ EV platform. Fast forward to 2022 and the two companies have expanded upon this collaboration by announcing that they’ll be co-developing a new range of electric vehicles based on an all-new shared electric platform. But you’ll have to wait all the way until 2027 until the first model shows up. 

While details are still scarce at the moment, the two companies have confirmed that one of the new models will be a compact crossover. Also, these EVs will utilise powertrains juiced up by General Motors’ Ultium batteries. The two carmakers will also be negotiating future EV battery technology collaboration opportunities, to cut costs for electrification as well as improving performance and drive sustainability for their future vehicles.

This partnership between Honda and General Motors ain’t something new, as they have been working on fuel cells as well as the development of the Cruise Origin, an electric self-driving and shared vehicle.

While there’s still a long way to go before we see the new range of EVs from Honda and General Motors, in the short term, their partnership is set to spawn two co-developed EVs, which includes the Honda Prologue that will go on sale in early 2024, and Acura’s first all-electric SUV. 

So what does this mean for India? Well nothing at this point, but Honda is beginning its electrification journey with the unveiling of the City e: HEV Hybrid on April 14, with a launch expected in May.