Your Future Honda EV Might Have a General Motors Battery
Not if you’re planning on leasing a Clarity Electric, of course, though future iterations of Honda’s greenest model could use what General Motors is pushing. Which is: a far more energy dense battery.
On Thursday, the two automakers announced a partnership to develop smaller, longer-ranged batteries for use in electric vehicles, primarily those sold in North America. Once the two achieve a breakthrough, GM will become Honda’s supplier.
By developing “advanced chemistry battery components,” meaning the cell and module itself, the automakers hope to market an EV battery pack with “higher energy density, smaller packaging and faster charging capabilities” than those currently on the market.
Because of a lack of battery room beneath its do-everything platform, the fully electric version of Honda’s Clarity sedan boasts a measly 89 miles of driving range. No wonder it’s offering such an attractive lease. While some products in the automaker’s EV pipeline, like the production version of the Urban EV Concept, require a small footprint but usable driving range to attract a younger, less affluent demographic, there’s a need for green family haulers with enough range to haul three kids and their crap to grandma’s house a state over. This typically necessitates a large, heavy, and expensive battery pack, plus a hefty MSRP.
Honda’s not alone in this need. Increasingly, automakers who haven’t invested copious R&D dollars into electrified vehicle technology are simply partnering with other automakers to make it happen. Witness Subaru’s fruitful pair-up with Toyota.
GM and Honda aren’t meeting up for a first-time tryst, either. The two automakers already have a joint manufacturing pact for the creation of affordable hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Executives from both automakers placed their names on a joint media release, emphasizing the most recent partnership’s goal of achieving nice-sounding things like sustainability and mobility. We love mobility around here.
[Image: Honda]
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- Daniel J I love my mazda 6. It's getting harder and harder to drive it around where I live as municipalities fail to repair roads. SUVs are just easier to drive with all of the potholes.
- 1995 SC On the plus side, I found a sedan I want to buy
- Teddyc73 As I asked earlier under another article, when did "segment" or "class" become "space"? Does using that term make one feel more sophisticated? If GM's products in other segments...I mean "space" is more profitable then sedans then why shouldn't they discontinue it.
- Robert Absolutely!!! I hate SUV's , I like the better gas milage and better ride and better handling!! Can't take a SUV 55mph into a highway exit ramp! I can in my Malibu and there's more than enough room for 5 and trunk is plenty big enough for me!
- Teddyc73 Since when did automakers or car companies become "OEM". Probably about the same time "segment" or "class" became "space". I wish there were more sedans. I would like an American sedan. However, as others have stated, if they don't sell in large enough quantities to be profitable the automakers...I mean, "OEMs" aren't going to build them. It's simple business.
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No wonder Prius sales are falling so fast. People are buying the Subaru version.
Can I get a Lucas wiring harness, dashboard and gauges in it too ?