The move will see the two companies share resources and Honda will source battery modules for General Motors, in a move that extends the industry's first manufacturing joint venture between two automotive giants.
Honda and General Motors have signed a new agreement pertaining to sourcing batteries for electric vehicles. The two companies, that formed the industry's first manufacturing joint venture on electrification of cars, will now share necessary resources, and see Honda source advanced battery modules from GM to speed up its building of electric and electrified vehicles.
General Motors has been investing steadily and over a sustained period of time in electric and electrified vehicles, with the likes of the present generation Chevrolet Bolt showing particular advancement of technologies in cars. The batteries being developed by GM are high density modules that also provide smaller overall packaging size of each module and faster charging standards – two key factors when it comes to building EVs for companies. The smaller size of battery modules will make it easier to fit in higher power capacities in electric cars, which in turn will increase both performance potential and the total overall range through which an electric car can travel.
However, charging time for EVs is a major cause of concern for companies globally. Even the fastest charging standards take up a significant amount of charging time that is much longer than what is required to refuel combustion engine cars. For instance, even the lesser-power Tesla Model S takes at least 40 minutes to charge up to 50 percent. GM is also attempting to address this issue by working on faster charging methods that can reduce total charging time for batteries without compromising range.
The existing pact between General Motors and Honda pertains to electrification of vehicles, too. The companies have an ongoing manufacturing joint venture that aims to bring to production a Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle by 2020, thereby providing a commercially viable model of operation for hydrogen fuel cell power sources. Both Honda and GM are working on electric and autonomous vehicles, and are expected to roll out production forms of advanced vehicles over the next five years, both individually and jointly.
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