25 apr 2024 om 21:26 Update: 2 uur geleden
Japanese car manufacturer Honda will invest 15 billion Canadian dollars (more than 10 billion euros) in a new factory for electric cars in eastern Canada. It is the company’s largest investment ever in Canada.
This was announced on Thursday by directors of the Japanese company and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The investment alludes to 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.
Billion dollar project has been hinted at before
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, news agency AFP based on insiders, it was known 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.
Tags: Honda invests billion Canadian plugin car factory Economy
