Last week, Honda announced its plan to exclusively sell emissions-free vehicles in the United States by 2040, utilizing a mix of battery and hydrogen power. As part of this announcement, Honda subtly revealed its intention to introduce “two large-sized EV models utilizing GM’s Ultium batteries” for the 2024 model year—one model for Honda and the other for Acura. Furthermore, Acura has confirmed that these vehicles will be assembled by actual GM employees.
In an email to The Drive, an Acura representative stated, “We are jointly developing two EV SUV models using GM’s Ultium batteries for the North American market for the 2024 model year, one for Honda and one for Acura. As announced in April 2020, these will be produced by GM.”
These two electric crossovers are set to debut in North America, with separate GM facilities designated for their production. The Honda model is expected to begin manufacturing in 2023 at the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico, which also produces the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox, while the Acura model is slated for production in 2024 at the Spring Hill facility in Tennessee. This Spring Hill plant is also where Cadillac will manufacture its electric Lyriq crossover, which may share similar dimensions with the upcoming Honda and Acura models, hinting at possible platform sharing.
Regardless of whether Honda adopts the Lyriq’s platform, both electric crossovers would be prime candidates for Cadillac’s hands-free Super Cruise driving assist system, of which Honda expressed interest in implementing back in April of last year. Honda plans to integrate GM’s hands-free advanced driver-assist technology into both vehicles, with both companies collaborating closely on research and development efforts for autonomous driving technology.
Earlier this year, Honda unexpectedly emerged as a leader in commercially available autonomous technology when it announced a limited release of its Legend sedan (previously known as the Acura RLX) equipped with SAE Level 3 autonomous software called Honda Sensing Elite. The integration of this system with GM’s Super Cruise could enhance its capabilities while providing competitive advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) for future Honda models. However, it is unlikely that we will see hands-free Hondas in the U.S. before 2023.
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