Source: Gasgoo
Honda Motor announced that it plans to invest $11 billion in a new electric vehicle and battery production plant based on an existing facility in Ontario. It will be the largest investment of Japanese automaker in Canada.
Honda said it expects to contribute 60 to 70 percent of the total investment, with the rest coming from joint venture partners and subsidies from the Ontario government. Trudeau office said the subsidies from the federal and Ontario governments could reach $5 billion. Details of the investment will be revealed later this year.
The investment announced jointly by Honda executives and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It shows that Honda expects greater consumer demand for electric vehicles in North America.
Image source: Honda
The new electric vehicle and battery plant will be built adjacent to Honda’s existing car and engine plants in Canada and will add about 1,000 employees to its workforce, the company said. The new facility is expected to begin operations in 2028 with an annual production of 240,000 electric vehicles and 36 GWh of batteries.
Honda, like other Japanese automakers, was a relative latecomer to electric vehicles market as its now struggled to compete with fast-growing Chinese automakers.
In Canada, Honda intends to build a complete production system from materials to vehicles through partnership with companies such as Asahi Kasei which produce key components for electric vehicles.
While there are already signs of a slowdown in global demand for electric vehicles, Honda executive Shinji Aoyama said the supply network will help Honda meet its goal. All Honda vehicles in North America will be electric or fuel cell vehicles by 2040.
In the context of reducing carbon emissions, Canada has extended invitations to companies at all levels of the electric vehicle supply chain to strengthen Ontario’s manufacturing heartland.
Trudeau said, “Honda’s investment is a vote of confidence in Canada, Canadian autoworkers and our manufacturing industry. We are creating jobs with high salaries together and also keeping our air clean.
