Japanese car manufacturer Honda will invest 15 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to more than 10 billion euros, in a new factory for electric cars in eastern Canada. The company announced this on Thursday. It is the company’s largest investment ever in Canada.
The investment, announced by company executives and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hints at Honda’s expectations of increased demand for electric vehicles in North America.
Like other Japanese car companies, Honda started making electric cars relatively late. The company is now trying to better compete with fast-moving Chinese rivals.
The factory is expected to start operations in 2028. It is estimated that 240,000 electric vehicles and 36 gigawatt hours of batteries can be produced annually.
Honda expects to contribute 60 to 70 percent of the total investment. The rest must come from government subsidies from the province of Ontario, among other things. Support from the federal Canadian government and Ontario could amount to 5 billion Canadian dollars, Trudeau’s office said.
Earlier this week, the AFP news agency announced, based on insiders, that the billion-dollar project was coming. At the time, Ontario Premier Doug Ford also hinted at the deal. “This week we closed the largest deal in Canadian history – twice the size of Volkswagen,” he said.
Sales in North America account for about 30 percent of Honda’s global vehicle sales.
