The Japanese carmaker announced on Thursday, that Honda Motor along with its yet-to-be-named partners are planning to invest $11 billion in Ontario, Canada, to make a big electric vehicle hub,
They want to build new factories to make electric cars and batteries, along with other buildings to help with making electric and fuel cell vehicles.
They’re planning to start making cars in 2028, and once everything’s up and running, they aim to make 240,000 cars every year. This big investment in Alliston, Ontario, is part of Honda’s goal to only sell electric and fuel-cell cars by 2040.
Some people might think this investment is strange, especially because other car companies are slowing down their electric car plans since not as many people are buying electric cars as expected.
But Honda says they’re doing this to be ready for more demand for electric cars in North America. The new battery plant they’re building will be able to make 36-gigawatt hours of batteries every year.
This project is expected to create around 1,000 new jobs, adding to the 4,200 people working for Honda in Ontario.
During a live press conference on Thursday, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said that this $15 billion Canadian investment is the biggest ever in Canada’s car industry. The Canadian government is expected to give Honda about $2.5 billion in tax credits and other help.
This investment is a big deal for Canada, especially after Honda announced last year that they’re investing $4.4 billion in a new battery plant in Ohio, USA.
Honda’s CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, said they’re now talking to the governments of Canada and Ontario to build a whole electric car system in Canada after they did something similar in the US. Their partner for the US plant is LG Energy Solution.
They’re still figuring out the details of the investment and expect to finish planning everything in the next six months.
