Honda, GM abandon cooperation on electric vehicle project

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- General Motors and Honda confirmed Wednesday that the companies have abandoned a plan to co-create electric vehicles.

"After extensive studies and analysis, we have come to a mutual decision to discontinue the program. Each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market," the companies said in a joint statement.

The cooperation plan was initially announced in April 2022, with the companies saying they expected to create millions of electric vehicles by 2027.

At the time, GM CEO Mary Barra said, "This is a key step to deliver on our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in our global products and operations by 2040 and eliminate tailpipe emissions from light duty vehicles in the U.S. by 2035."

The project would have utilized GM's Ultium battery technology, which the company says it will continue to develop.

"GM's focus over the next two years will continue to be on scaling the Ultium Platform and battery cell capacity, expanding a robust domestic EV supply chain," GM said.

The announcement comes shortly after 5,000 employees at GM's Texas-based Arlington Assembly Plant joined the United Auto Workers' "Stand Up Strike" on Tuesday.

In July, seven major automakers announced that they would team up to create 30,000 EV charging stations by 2030, in order to help increase EV sales.

Recent price drops by Tesla Motors have reduced the price gap between EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles, which remain cheaper on average.

Honda says that despite the abandoned joint EV project, the company "remains focused on achieving 100% electrified vehicle sales by 2040."