What fun for brand managers – a common platform for Cadillac and Acura SUVs?
In identical releases this morning from Detroit and Tokyo, GM and Honda said they will design a new EV series expected to go on sale in 2027 starting in North America. The unnamed vehicles will be based on a new global architecture using GM’s next-generation Ultium battery technology. The companies said they will also work toward standardizing equipment and processes to achieve “world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability.” Specifically mentioned was the compact crossover segment, which is the largest in the world, with annual volumes of more than 13 million vehicles – think Buick Encore and Cadillac XT4. (AutoInformed on: Honda Prologue EV – Vapor Ware Until 2024; Honda to Abandon IC Engines – Global Electrification by 2040; Honda, GM Ink MoU on North American Alliance!)
The business justification for the expansion of GM Honda collaboration has increased in urgency since yesterday’s release of the latest UN report on Greenhouse Gases. It said that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 – at the latest – and then drop by more than 40% by the end of the decade to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. (U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
GM and Honda also will discuss future EV battery technology collaboration to lower the cost of electrification, improve performance and help sustainability for future vehicles. Right now GM is known to be already working on new technologies such as lithium-metal, silicon and solid-state batteries, along with production methods that can swiftly be used to improve and update battery cell manufacturing processes.
Honda said it is making progress on its all-solid-state battery technology, which the company sees as the core element of future EVs. Honda has established a demonstration line in Japan for all-solid-state batteries, and says it is making further progress toward mass-production.
“Honda is committed to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050, which requires driving down the cost of electric vehicles to make EV ownership possible for the greatest number of customers,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda president & CEO. “Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles.”
Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain said, “Our plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025.”
GM and Honda have developed a working relationship over many years, including several nascent projects focused on electric and autonomous vehicle technologies:
- In 2013, the two companies began working together on the co-development of a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies.
- In 2018, Honda joined GM’s EV battery module development efforts.
- In 2020, GM and Honda announced plans to co-develop two EVs, including the Honda Prologue, to be launched in early 2024, soon followed by Acura’s first EV SUV.
The companies also have an ongoing relationship with Cruise and are working together on the development of the Cruise Origin, one of the first purpose-built fully autonomous vehicles designed for driverless ride-hail and delivery.
Honda last June announced that its first new volume battery-electric vehicle will be named “Prologue,” that will lead ever so slowly to the company’s vision for 100% zero emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040. The SUV will be built in a North American General Motors plant starting in early 2024. Named the Prologue, the new SUV will use the Ultium battery and motor technology GM developed for use in EVs (AutoInformed on: Honda to Abandon IC Engines – Global Electrification by 2040, Honda, GM Ink MoU on North American Alliance!)
As an all-new SUV coming to market in early 2024, the battery-electric Honda Prologue notably lacks any specific details about the new vehicle. Any. Presumably, they will be released as slowly as possible over the coming months as it works with GM to give the impression that the Japanese company once celebrated for its innovations in powertrains is not being left behind breathing the CO2-free exhaust of major players such as General Motors, BMW, Ford, VW and countless others. (AutoInformed: EPA Range of 270, 260 miles for Mach-E GT, GT Performance)
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved on 6 April 2022 Council President Pro Tempore Mitch O’Farrell and Councilmember Paul Krekorian’s initiative to create an Electric Vehicle (EV) Master Plan, a historic step to electrifying the entire City fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles and, for the first time, implement the mass deployment of publicly accessible EV infrastructure citywide.
“Today, the Los Angeles City Council made history,” said Councilmember O’Farrell, the chair of the Council’s Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and River Committee. “We are already well on our way to our ‘LA100’ goal of achieving 100% carbon-free energy by 2035, but our actions today put in motion our plan to transform electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Los Angeles. Historically, Los Angeles has the worst air quality in the nation, especially disadvantaged communities who disproportionately live adjacent to major transportation infrastructure, including freeways. We must prioritize historically neglected communities in our focus to clean the air with our EV master plan and our ‘LA100’ efforts more broadly.”
“A century ago, Los Angeles led the automotive revolution of the past. Today, the Council is leading the automotive revolution of the future,” said Councilmember Krekorian. “Our actions today are the foundation of a thoughtful, visionary and effective transition to electric vehicles by the City and by the public. At the same time, there’s nothing inherently clean about electric vehicles unless we have clean electricity. That’s why it’s so important that this effort is coordinated with our LA100 Plan to transition to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.”
Today’s actions chart a course to fully electrify the entire City fleet. The initial focus will be to electrify the four largest departmental fleets: StreetsLA, LA Sanitation & Environment, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Department of Transportation. Additionally, the General Services Department, in coordination with other departments, is instructed to plan for the mass deployment of EV charging stations and infrastructure at more than 600 City-owned facilities, including parks and libraries.
The Department of Water and Power currently projects a need of approximately 97,000 charging stations by the year 2030, underscoring the need for a citywide master plan and implementation in the coming years.
“By starting with public facilities and public-facing infrastructure, we will incentivize the private sector to join us in this effort,” said O’Farrell, who today also introduced a related motion, seconded by Councilmember Kevin de León, to review current contractual workforce standards for EV installations citywide, as part of an effort to ensure that the City employs good workforce standards as it electrifies the transportation sector.
Krekorian, who is also a board member of the County’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) and the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), is also working to ensure that the City, the County and local transit agencies all coordinate their planning for an EV future. “This is exactly the work we need to go beyond slogans and bumper stickers to the real work of changing the world, cleaning our air and creating good middle class jobs.”