Honda and Hitachi Automotive Systems announced plans Tuesday for a joint venture building electric motors for vehicles. The companies only signed a memorandum of understanding, but they plan to commit to the project in March, with the new company being established this July. According to Honda, the formation of this company will also lead to manufacturing and sales facilities being launched in the US and China.
This collaboration is the latest move that shows Honda is getting serious about electrification. In addition to this latest partnership for developing electric car motors, the company announced last year that its goal is to have
two-thirds of its vehicles powered by electricity in some way by 2030. It also has electric and hybrid versions of the Clarity coming soon, and
a new dedicated hybrid for next year.
This isn’t the only alternative propulsion collaboration Honda has participated in.
Three years ago, the company joined up with GM to work on fuel-cell technology, and it announced the fruits of its partnership last week. The companies unveiled
a new hydrogen fuel-cell stack, which they claimed is lighter, simpler, and cheaper than past versions. The stacks will be built in a Michigan plant operated by both companies, and they will be used in vehicles and products from each company.
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