GM and Honda decided to abandon plans to jointly produce cheap cars

The parties still intend to produce Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX crossovers based on the Ultium platform, but new joint projects are likely to be expected not worth it.

The American concern General Motors and the Japanese company Honda began actively collaborating in 2013 in the context of developments related to electric vehicles. A strategic alliance between them appeared in 2020, and it was initially assumed that the projects would be mainly intended for implementation in the North American market, and later they became global (including South America and China).

Details about the development strategy within the framework of cooperation between General Motors and Honda appeared last spring. Initially, the alliance between American and Japanese manufacturers involved the joint use of GM's Ultium platform. A pair of crossovers will be based on it — the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, sales will start in early 2024. Let us note that the parties are not abandoning these joint plans.

In the photo: Honda Prologue 1/2 Pictured: Honda Prologue 2/2

According to the previously announced strategy, the GM-Honda alliance assumed that the focus would be on a version of the Ultium platform designed for mass-produced, low-cost electric vehicles. It was expected that the technological developments of both manufacturers (including research in the production of solid-state batteries) would be used to create them. It was assumed that mass-produced electric vehicles would be primarily compact crossovers, as well as models in other segments.

photo: Acura ZDX Type S 1/2 In the photo: Acura ZDX Type S 2/2

According to the plan, the new “electric trains” developed by the alliance were supposed to launch on the North American market in 2027 (later they were expected on the global market, including in South America and Celestial Empire). At the same time, their price tag, presumably, should have been less than 30 thousand dollars. For comparison, the estimated starting price of the Honda Prologue is 40 thousand dollars, and for the Acura ZDX in the States they will ask for at least 60 thousand dollars.

In the photo: current Chevrolet Bolt EV 1/2 In the photo: the current Chevrolet Bolt EV 2/2

Apparently, plans to produce inexpensive electric vehicles developed as part of the cooperation between GM and Honda are not destined to come true. The fact that the parties decided to abandon this idea is reported by Reuters, citing the Japanese automaker. A Honda spokesman said the decision was mutual and resulted from «some research and analysis.» Honda e:NP2 1/2 Honda e:NP2 2/2 prototype

Note that the message was preceded by the appearance of a GM report indicating a slowdown in sales growth, increasing labor costs and including a forecast with rather gloomy economic prospects. As a result, General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced the abandonment of the goal of producing 400 thousand electric vehicles from 2022 to mid-2024, as well as the decision to postpone the market launch of the Chevrolet Equinox EV for several months. In addition, the concern previously postponed the start of production at the Orion plant in Michigan of “electric pickups” Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.

Honda e:NS2 1/2 prototype Honda e:NS2 2/2 prototype

According to a representative of the Japanese company , each of the two alliance members will continue to work on their own affordable electric vehicles. Obviously, for GM it will be the next generation Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Honda will probably continue to create new products on the modular e:N Architecture platform, intended primarily for the Chinese market.