A team from Honda Global will be in Canada this week for a meeting with senior federal government officials amid reports the Japanese automaker is considering an $18.4 billion investment to build EVs in the province. PHOTO courtesy Honda.
Over the last three years, Ontario attracted more than $27 billion in new investments from global automakers, parts suppliers, and electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers as it ramped up its efforts to turn the province into a hub for EV manufacturing.
This has all been well-received news for the country’s automotive suppliers but after historic deals with Volkswagen Group, Stellantis and Magna, could there be even more good news coming in 2024? Could yet another blockbuster deal be in the works? A team from Honda Global will be in Canada this week for a meeting with senior federal government officials amid reports the Japanese automaker is considering an $18.4 billion investment to build EVs in the province.
The meeting follows on the heels of meetings between Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, the architect for much of the country’s push to become an EV manufacturing hub, and Honda Canada and Honda Global officials at the end of last year. Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asia reported that Honda is looking to set up an EV plant that could also produce batteries and that it’s considering several locations, including a site adjacent to its existing facility in Alliston, Ont.
The Nikkei report said Honda is expected to make a final decision on the project by the end of the year, and the new facility could begin production as early as 2028. If the Nikkei report is accurate, it would be the highest investment made an automaker in Canadian EV production to date, dwarfing the $7-billion investment by Volkswagen to build a battery factory in St. Thomas, Ont., and the $5-billion investment by Stellantis and LG Energy Production for a battery plant in Windsor, Ont.
Last year the federal government passed its much-anticipated legislation to end sales of new passenger vehicles powered only by gasoline or diesel by 2035.
