- Honda will use GM’s Ultium battery technology in two upcoming electric vehicles.
- The vehicles will be built in the United States with sales to begin in the 2024 model year.
- The electric Hondas will be available with GM’s OnStar and Super Cruise technologies, the automaker said.
Honda may have just removed the only EV in its U.S. lineup, but it’s already thinking about a purely electric future with some help from GM. Today the Japanese automaker announced that it will be teaming up with General Motors to produce two fully electric vehicles for model year 2024.
The two vehicles will use GM’s recently unveiled Ultium battery technology. In addition to having packs ranging from 50.0 to a whopping 200.0 kilowatt-hours and using less cobalt than competitors do, GM is aiming for a price point under $ 100 per kWh. In 2019, a BloombergNEF analysis found that prices averaged about $ 156 per kWh.
Surprisingly, the two electric Hondas will offer GM’s OnStar system and hands-free Super Cruise technologies. OnStar will be merged with Honda’s own HondaLink, while it’s unknown how Super Cruise will be integrated. What it does is gives Honda turnkey access to one of the best driver-assistance systems on the market.
Car and Driver
Honda noted that it will still design the vehicles and that the battery platform will be engineered to “support Honda’s driving character.”
“This collaboration will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers,” Rick Schostek, Honda America’s executive vice president, said in a statement.
