Honda considers $18B electric vehicle production plan in Canada

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is considering an investment upwards of $18.4-billion in a Canadian electric vehicle production plant according to reports from a Japanese news outlet.

Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday that the automaker is considering bringing both a vehicle and battery plant to the country in an effort to catch up in the electric vehicle market.

The report says that the company is looking at several sites across Canada, including next to its current plant in Alliston, Ont, with a decision on the potential investment expected by the end of the year.

A spokesperson for Honda Canada has affirmed that the company is looking at different initiatives to ramp up EV production, but did not confirm the report.

Honda is looking at several potential sites, including next to an existing automobile factory in the province of Ontario. It expects to decide by the end of 2024, with the new facility to go onstream as early as 2028.https://t.co/iYV4V10kYL

— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) January 8, 2024

“In order to achieve our 2040 electrification target of 100 per cent electrified vehicles, we are considering various options to increase local production capacity, however we have nothing further to share at this time,” John Bordignon said in an email.

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Similarly, a representative for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne did not confirm whether talks were taking place between Honda and the government.

However, the minister did say in a statement that the potential investments is a “testament to Canada’s growing reputation as a green supplier of choice and global EV leader.”

“Reports about Honda looking to make a significant investment in Canada speaks to the quality of workforce and the strength of our industry,” Champagne said in the statement.

The report from Nikkei points to the abundance of renewable energy in Canada as part of the reason the country is being considered as the potential home of a new plant.

This comes as the federal government mandated that all passenger vehicle sales would be electric by 2035.

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Honda is currently repurposing a production plant in Ohio for electric vehicle production and has reached an agreement to build an electric battery plant in the state with LG Energy Solution.

The report, however, suggests that the company may go in alone on the potential Canadian plant.

In 2022, Honda announced an investment of $1.38-billion to upgrade its Alliston plant, partly in preparation for it to be the lead producer of its CR-V hybrid crossover vehicle.

The company only just launched the sale of its first fully electric vehicle in Canada this year, with limited quantities expected in the first year of production.

This report was created with files from The Canadian Press