Canceled, Honda And GM End Up Cooperation In Production Of Affordable Electric SUVs

Honda Passport TrailSport 2024. (Doc. Honda Motor Company)

JAKARTA - In April last year, Honda and General Motors (GM) announced cooperation to develop a series of affordable compact electric crossover SUVs. This news is good news considering the development of affordable electric cars last year there was something impossible with the disruption of supply chains due to the pandemic.

Reportedly at that time, this cheap SUV will be equipped with next-generation batteries and launched in 2027. But unfortunately the latest news, reported by Reuters, Bloomberg, and Caranddriver, October 27, Honda has announced the cancellation of cooperation with GM.

Honda's decision was taken due to a changing economic climate. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told Bloomberg that after studying it for a year, Honda decided that it would be difficult to do in business.

"The cost of the program and the issue of car distance are some of the cancellation factors," he added.

Meanwhile, earlier this week GM revealed that it was unsure whether the company could reach their estimated initial profit of USD 14 billion by 2023, accusing the United Auto Workers strike of causing it.

The initial cooperation plan involved the development of a new Ultium battery-based platform owned by GM, which was found in various models ranging from the Econox EV to the GMC Hummer EV, and the BrightDrop electric van.

The new Honda and GM vehicles are planned to be sold for under US$30,000 or Rp477 million, the same as the Equinox EV base price plan, and the two companies at the time said they were exploring state-of-the-art batteries and using materials such as lithium-metal and silicon.

The cancellation of this collaboration should not affect the launch of Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, which is closely related to the Kazet Blazar EV and Cadillac Lyriq as well as using GM's Ultium battery technology.