Honda to invest $15B to build four new EV plants in Ontario

Japanese automaker Honda will make a $15-billion electric vehicle investment in Ontario that will see four new manufacturing plants built in the province, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday.

According to a government statement released to the media in advance of the announcement, the deal will result in "Canada's first comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain."

The deal includes the construction of Honda's first electric vehicle assembly plant as well as a new stand-alone EV battery plant at Honda's facility in Alliston, Ont. 

"Honda will also build a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. and a separator plant through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corporation," the statement said. 

Once the assembly plant is fully operational in 2028, it will produce as many as 240,000 vehicles per year and create more than 1,000 "well-paying manufacturing jobs," the statement said.

Calling it the "largest auto investment in Canada's history," Trudeau said Canada's supply of natural resources helped make the deal possible but the country's greatest asset is its highly trained workers. 

"The biggest advantage that Canada has in drawing investments from all around the world are Canadian workers who are the best in the world."

Ford called the investment "a game changer for the industry" and a "tremendous win for Ontario" that his government was supporting with direct and indirect incentives worth $2.5 billion. 

"This is the first time China has been unseated from the top spot" of the global supply chain ranking, Ford said. With the Honda deal, Ontario has attracted more than $43 billion in "auto and EV investment" in the last three years, the premier said.

At the announcement in Alliston, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland touted federal tax credits that have been crafted to attract EV investment in the country.

"Thanks to this EV supply chain investment tax credit as well as the clean technology manufacturing investment tax credit, Honda and its partners will benefit from upwards of $2.5 billion in support from the federal government," she said.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told reporters in Alliston that the details of his company's $15-billion investment will be rolled out over the next six months. 

"When this project is confirmed, Honda is expected to become the first automaker to utilize the EV supply chain investment tax credit."

In a statement, Honda said that in addition to the 1,000 new manufacturing jobs, the deal also secures the "the current employment level of 4,200 associates at its two existing manufacturing facilities in Ontario."