Honda said Tuesday it is spending $700 million to retrofit three of its Ohio plants to build electric vehicles as it aims to phase out gas engines by 2040.
Electric vehicle batteries will be supplied by Honda and its Acura division through a joint venture with LG Energy Solutions. The automaker has confirmed that its $4.4 billion battery plant will be near Honda’s operations in Fayette County, Ohio, pending regulatory approval.
The “New Electric Vehicle Center” will capitalize on Honda’s manufacturing and purchasing network in central Ohio, representing an industry-wide scramble to bring battery production ashore to control supply and access to new battery technologies.
So far, automakers and suppliers have announced investments of more than $38 billion through 2026 to boost battery production in the United States, according to AlixPartners. That number is likely to rise as the industry takes advantage of the $40 billion in tax breaks included in the Inflation Control Act aimed at accelerating the production of electric vehicles.
Last month, Ford broke into its $5.6 billion BlueOval City complex in Tennessee, where it plans to begin building advanced batteries for future Ford and Lincoln EVs, including the F-150 Lightning, and a second battery-electric truck, in 2025. .
Toyota plans to spend $3.8 billion to build a battery plant near Greensboro, North Carolina, for hybrid and battery electric vehicles in the middle of the decade. Panasonic, which supplies Tesla and other automakers, has committed a $4 billion battery plant in Kansas — the state’s largest economic development project ever — and is in talks for another $4 billion plant in Oklahoma.
Honda and LG Energy aim to begin construction early next year and mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells by the end of 2025. The joint venture has committed an initial investment of $3.5 billion, with total investment expected to reach $4.4 billion.
Honda plans to ramp up production to sell millions of electric vehicles in North America, a far cry from the 100,000 EVs and hybrids it sold in the US last year, mostly the Accord Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid. The company, which plans to launch its first battery-powered SUV, Prologue, in 2024, is currently developing models using GM’s Ultium platform, but plans to start producing vehicles based on the new Honda e: Architecture in 2026.
Honda committed $700 million to retool its existing footprint at the Ohio plant to help relocate the Anna Motor Plant to build car battery cases, the Marysville Automobile Plant to marry battery modules and the East Liberty Auto plant to install the battery module.
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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