Honda will use General Motors’s new electric vehicle platform for two new cars.
The Japanese carmaker will design the exterior and interior for the two electric cars, and tune the platform “to support Honda’s driving character”.
Honda already has a compact electric vehicle, the E, however the GM platform in question is larger and, presumably, longer range.
Both cars will be built in General Motors factories. They will also use GM Ultium batteries, self-driving technology, and the GM OnStar system security and services system.
Honda vehicles based on the GM platform will go on sale from 2023 or 2024 in the United States and Canada.
Availability outside of North America has yet to be confirmed, but the GM chassis is billed as a “global EV platform”, so it should be compliant with regulations in other parts of the world.
The two carmakers have been working together for a number of years, first on hydrogen fuel-cells and then battery technology.
Honda more recently bought a minority share in Cruise, the General Motors division developing autonomous taxis.
GM has already announced a number of the in-house vehicles it will base on the new electric architecture.
These include the GMC Hummer pickup and SUV, the Cadillac Lyriq crossover, and the Cadillac Celestiq – a four-door performance liftback aimed loosely at the Porsche Taycan.
The General has already teased the GMC Hummer (above), is due to go on sale in the States from late 2021.
The Cadillac Lyriq was meant to be revealed this month, but the launch of the near-production “concept” has been put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
