General Motors’ decision to develop a flexible electric vehicle platform is paying off.
The billion-dollar bet General Motors made to develop a new electric vehicle platform and Ultima battery system is paying off in the shape of an agreement with Honda. The two companies have announced that they will collaborate on two electric vehicles for the Japanese automaker based on this technology.
The deal is a continuation of a relationship they have built over some time, beginning in 2012 when they began an alliance to develop hydrogen fuel cell systems together. It has continued since then with collaboration on self-driving technology with Cruise. Check out the graph below for more details.
Although the drivetrain will consist of GM’s EV tech, the rest of the vehicles will be distinctly Honda. So, while the flexible electric vehicle platform will be formulated specifically for the set of vehicles in question, Honda will design and build both the bodies and interiors.
GM’s platform and electric architecture can be formulated in a large number of ways: either front-wheel, rear-wheel, or all-wheel drive. The batteries can be configured to support packs ranging from 50 to 200 kWh. In this case, we expect that Honda will likely choose to go with 100 kWh or lower. GM will use the large 200 kWh pack in its full-sized GMC Hummer SUV.
Given that Honda’s only current electric offering is a small city car, the adorable Honda e, we believe it’s likely these two new vehicles will be crossovers sized for different market niches.
You can check out the full press release below for more details.
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