General Motors and Honda have partnered to manufacture affordable SUVs

General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) has expanded its electric car partnership with Honda Motor Co., in which they plan to co-develop various EVs based on a joint platform that will allow the manufacture of millions of vehicles from 2027. The announcement builds on GM’s intentions to start producing two electric SUVs for Honda in 2024, the Acura and Honda Prologue model.

GM and Honda collaborate to deliver affordable electric SUVs

According to the car manufacturers, the new agreement is for cheap electric vehicles, such as small crossovers, produced with GM’s Ultrium battery tech. The joint program will produce millions of affordable EVs that include crossover SUVs from 2027. According to the firms, the compact crossover segment is the world’s most popular auto segment, with yearly sales exceeding 13 million vehicles.

Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?

Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.

The corporations wouldn’t reveal how much money they’re putting into the new partnership. GM CEO Mary Barra said:

GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China.

The mass use of developing technology will require more cheap electric vehicles. While electric vehicles are becoming more common, they are still primarily priced for high-end customers. According to Ken Morris, GM Honda cars are planned to cost less than $30,000, GM’s EVP of electric, autonomous, and fuel cell initiatives, on a conference call with media on Tuesday.

The companies also stated that they would consider future electric vehicle battery tech collaboration opportunities in order to lower the costs of electrification, increase performance, and ensure future vehicle sustainability.

Both companies are working on EV cars as part of carbon neutrality goals

The agreement is part of General Motor’s goal to be carbon neutral in its worldwide products and services by 2040 and to eradicate tailpipe pollution from light-duty automobiles by 2035.

Honda has stated that it plans to achieve global carbon neutrality by 2050. The firms also operate a joint venture in Brownstown, Michigan, to research and manufacture hydrogen fuel-cell devices. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe commented:

Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles.