General Motors, Honda to establish US automotive alliance
The extent of the proposed alliance will include a number of vehicles to be sold under each company’s distinct brands, in addition to the cooperation in purchasing, research and development and connected services.
Under the proposed alliance, Honda and GM would jointly collaborate on a variety of segments in North America, with the intention to share common vehicle platforms, including both electrified and internal combustion propulsion systems that align with the vehicle platforms. Co-development planning discussions are set to begin immediately, with engineering work anticipated to commence in early 2021.
The announcement builds on the agreement signed between the companies in April to jointly develop two all-new electric vehicles for Honda, which is based solely on GM’s highly flexible global EV platform powered by Ultium batteries. The GM-Hona partnership, which began over 20 years ago, includes recent collaboration between the companies on fuel cells, batteries and the Cruise Origin shared autonomous vehicle.
Mark Reuss, president of General Motors, commented: “This alliance will help both companies accelerate investment in future mobility innovation by freeing up additional resources. Given our strong track record of collaboration, the companies would realize significant synergies in the development of today’s vehicle portfolio.”
Seiji Kuraishi, executive vice president of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. added: “Through this new alliance with GM, we can achieve substantial cost efficiencies in North America that will enable us to invest in future mobility technology, while maintaining our own distinct and competitive product offerings. Combining the strengths of each company, and by carefully determining what we will do on our own and what we will do in collaboration, we will strive to build a win-win relationship to create new value for our customers. In this way, Honda will continue making steady progress in solidifying our existing business by realizing strong products, strong manufacturing capability and a strong business structure.”