Honda and GM are getting closer and closer. The two auto-goliaths today signed a memorandum of understanding to form an alliance in North America. Earlier this year, it was announced that Honda would borrow EV technology from GM to build two electric cars to be sold under the Honda name in the US. Today’s move appears to have the potential to bring the two companies even closer together.
From now on, the proposed alliance would allow the two to work together in electric powertrain technology, internal combustion engines, vehicle platforms, connected services (infotainment technology), procurement and general R&D. Honda and GM would collaborate in certain vehicle segments, already expressing an intention to share common vehicle platforms.
By working together in this way, both Honda and GM plan to save money on development, invest more in next-generation technologies, and leverage economies of scale for procurement, logistics and other business facets. The announcement also goes a little deeper into technology. Honda and GM plan to collaborate on electrical architecture systems, advanced driver assistance systems, infotainment, connectivity and vehicle-to-all communications.
“This new alliance with GM will enable us to achieve significant cost savings in North America that will allow us to invest in future mobility technology, while maintaining our own distinctive and competitive product offering,” said Seiji Kuraishi, executive vice president of Honda Motor Co. “By combining the strengths of each business and carefully determining what we will do alone and what we will do in partnership, we will strive to build a win-win relationship to create new value for our customers. continue to make progress in strengthening our existing businesses by realizing strong products, strong production capacity and a strong corporate structure. “
Mark Reuss, President of General Motors added, “This alliance will help both companies accelerate their investment in future mobility innovation by freeing up additional resources. Given our strong track record of collaboration, the companies would realize significant synergies at the development of the current vehicle portfolio. “
Talks between the two are scheduled to begin immediately and engineering will begin in early 2021. We have many questions about what this alliance will deliver on dealer lots, but there are few answers for now. Honda still plans to offer those two GM-based electric vehicles by 2024, but what will come next is still unknown.
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