General Motors (GM) and Honda revealed to the world about their partnership to produce a range of vehicles in North America, recently.
This alliance, according to the two firms, would result in them sharing common vehicle platforms including future electric-only models and would also represent a significant expansion of existing collaborations between them that include autonomous vehicles, fuel cells and connected vehicle tech.
The GM Honda partnership would also include manufacturing crossovers, midsized pickup trucks and joint development discussions, the firms say, will begin immediately, while the engineering process would start early next year.
Back in April, GM and Honda had stated that they would jointly develop two new EVs for Honda, while also coming up with the design of an autonomous vehicle called “Cruise Origin” together.
It is obvious why the two firms took such a decision. Policymakers all over the globe have gotten into their heads that electric vehicles are “green” and thus are continuously imposing restrictions, taxes, among other things to get rid of vehicles that are powered by internal combustion engines.
Add to that the tax benefits manufacturers and consumers get by way of buying an electric vehicle, auto firms have had to make a choice and come up with EVs, but since they are costly to make, such partnerships have become inevitable, even for auto giants like GM and Honda.
Although Honda has remained largely independent so far, it would not have been able to achieve the economies of scale it desires, on its own. Another factor that has to be taken into account is that North America is the biggest market for the Japanese carmaker.
GM President Mark Reuss put it bluntly, by saying, “Overall, we believe this alliance would help both companies realise significant cost savings in the development of our vehicle portfolios.”
GM Honda Partnership
- GM and Honda have announced their new partnership
- To produce vehicles jointly for the North American market
- Ties deepen between the firms to create future-oriented vehicles
Source – Reuters.com