Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced it plans to build a comprehensive EV value chain in Canada with an approximate investment of CAD$15 billion (USD$11 billion), including investment by joint venture partners, to strengthen its EV supply system and capability to prepare for a future increase in EV demand in North America.
Honda said it has begun evaluating the requirements to build an innovative and environmentally responsible Honda EV plant and a stand-alone Honda EV battery plant in Alliston, Ontario. The proposed Honda EV value chain will also include a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. and a separator plant through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corporation, with announcements to follow in their respective Ontario communities.
Honda expects that electric vehicle production will begin in 2028. Once fully operational, the EV plant will have a production capacity of 240,000 EVs per year and the EV battery plant will have a capacity of 36 GWh per year, the company said.
In addition to securing the current employment level of 4,200 associates at its two existing manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Honda said it estimates it will add a minimum of 1,000 new associates for the EV and EV battery manufacturing facilities. The investment in the new facilities will also create significant spinoff jobs across all sites, including in the construction sector.
North American EV Strategy
Striving to realize carbon neutrality for all its products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda said it set a goal to make BEVs and FCEVs represent 100% of vehicle sales by 2040. To achieve this goal, Honda will continue offering attractive products in this electrified era globally, including its largest market of North America.
As the first step in achieving this electrification goal in North America, Honda positioned its existing auto production plants in the state of Ohio in the U.S. as its EV Hub for production, including the retooling of existing plants, an investment of USD$700 million, and the construction of a joint venture EV battery plant with LG Energy Solution, with an expected investment of USD$4.4 billion.
The Ohio EV hub will serve as the foundation for future EV and EV battery production, sharing knowledge and expertise with other Honda plants in North America, including the new EV assembly and battery plants in Ontario, Canada. Honda said it expects EV production to begin at the Marysville Auto Plant in late 2025.
