Proactive Investors - Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) announced it is investing C$15 million (US$11 million) to build four new manufacturing plants in Ontario, Canada, to build out its electric vehicle production capabilities.
The automaker said it has started the evaluation process for a Honda EV plant and a standalone Honda EV battery plant in Alliston, Ontario.
It also plans to build a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M and a separator plant through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corporation.
Honda said it expects that EV production will kick off in 2028 and, 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.
“In North America, following the initiative to establish our EV production system capability in the US, we will now begin formal discussions toward the establishment of a comprehensive EV value chain here in Canada, with the support of the governments of Canada and Ontario,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement.
“We will strengthen our EV supply system and capability with an eye toward a future increase in EV demand in North America.”
The investment was welcomed by Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario premier Doug Ford.
“This investment is a strong vote of confidence in Canada and Ontario’s highly skilled workers, strong economies, and competitive business environments,” Ford’s office said in a statement.