May 8, 2024 – With an investment of about $15 billion (including investment by joint venture [JV] partners), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. announced it plans to build a “comprehensive EV value chain in Canada” to strengthen its electric vehicle supply system and capability to prepare for a future increase in EV demand in North America.

“[This] announcement is a historic investment by a manufacturer in the Canadian auto industry. It proudly honours the highly skilled associates who have earned a global reputation for manufacturing excellence, and represents Honda’s recognition of the long-term attractiveness of the Canadian electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem,” said Jean Marc Leclerc, president & CEO, Honda Canada Inc.

Honda has begun evaluating the requirements to build an EV plant and a stand-alone EV battery plant in Alliston, Ont. The proposed EV value chain will also include a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant (with JV partner POSCO Future M Co. Ltd.) and a separator plant (with JV partner Asahi Kasei Corp.), with announcements to follow in their respective Ontario communities.

Honda expects that electric vehicle production will begin in 2028. Once fully operational, the plant will have a production capacity of 240,000 vehicles per year, while the battery plant will have a capacity of 36 GWh per year.

In addition to securing the current employment level of 4200 associates at its two existing manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Honda estimates it will add a minimum of 1000 new employees for the EV and battery manufacturing facilities.

From left: Jean Marc Leclerc, president & CEO of Honda Canada, looks on from the background as Toshihiro Mibe, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co., addresses the crowd at Honda of Canada Manufacturing, where the company announced a $15-billion investment to build an EV value chain in Canada.

To support this project, Honda is collaborating with the governments of Canada and Ontario, accessing performance-based initiatives available through the federal government’s Investment Tax Credits along with direct/indirect provincial incentives.

Honda says it has begun the process of evaluating the scope of its investment and completing negotiations with its JV partners. The work is expected to be finalized during the next six months.