AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/06 Report--

On April 5, two traditional cars, General Motors of the United States and Honda of Japan, announced a cooperation agreement to jointly build a new platform to build low-cost people-friendly electric vehicles. The two sides expect the new model to go on sale in 2027 at a lower price than the Chevrolet Equinox (priced at $30, 000), in other words, electric vehicles jointly produced by the two sides will not be priced at more than $30, 000.

Based on the next-generation Ultium battery technology, the two companies will jointly develop a range of economical electric vehicles, including the popular compact crossover, which are expected to produce millions, according to the cooperation statement. GM also pointed out in a statement that the compact crossover currently has annual sales of more than 13 million, making it the largest market segment, and the two sides will expand electric vehicle production capacity to 2 million units by 2025. In addition, the two sides said they would discuss future battery technology cooperation for electric vehicles to promote further cost reduction. GM had previously said that global products would be carbon neutral by 2040, while Honda had set a target of 2050.

In fact, this is not the first time GM has partnered with Honda. The two companies have already had in-depth cooperation in gasoline cars, electric vehicles and self-driving technology. As early as 2013, the two sides began to jointly develop fuel cell systems and hydrogen storage technology; in 2018, Honda joined the research and development of GM electric vehicle battery modules; in 2020, GM and Honda announced the joint development of two electric vehicles-a Honda Prologue and an Acura electric vehicle, which are expected to go on sale in 2024. In addition, the two companies also cooperate on autopilot technology. The re-cooperation between GM and Honda means that the scope of cooperation between the two sides will be further expanded, and it is also an important measure for both sides to accelerate the transition to electrification.

At present, electric transformation has become a major trend of the future development of traditional automobile enterprises. Honda announced in 2021 that it would stop selling gasoline-powered cars and plans to stop selling fuel vehicles altogether by 2040. In January, Honda China Minister Katsushi Inoue said that he aims to sell 800000 pure electric vehicles by 2030, and pointed out: "if we do not win the competition in China, which promotes electrification, it will be eliminated by the world." We will change all areas, and the outcome will be decided in the next five years. In March, Honda also announced plans to set up a new company this year to jointly develop pure electric cars. GM, on the other hand, plans to produce and sell 30 electric models by 2025, stop selling fuel vehicles in 2035 and transition its products to zero-emission and pure electric vehicles in the same year.

As far as the current electric vehicle market is concerned, Tesla, as a leading brand of electric vehicles, its sales are growing rapidly. The latest data show that Tesla delivered 310000 vehicles in the first quarter, up from 185000 in the same period in 2021 and up 67.5 per cent from the same period last year. According to the concern of the automobile industry, in March this year, Tesla adjusted the price of his model three times in nearly eight days, of which the cheapest model, Model 3, sold for $46990 after the price increase last month, and the price of Model 3 for dual-motor all-wheel drive increased to $54490. The long-range version of the Model Y starts at $62990, and it's tempting for GM and Honda to develop an electric car for less than $30000, but the model won't go on sale until 2027, and the market is changing so fast that no one knows what will happen when it comes to 2027.

According to public information, General Motors is one of the largest car companies in the world, founded on September 16, 1908. Up to now, General Motors has entered China for more than 90 years and has 10 joint ventures and 2 wholly-owned subsidiaries in China, mainly producing and selling Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Baojun, Wuling and other products. Honda Motor, whose full name is Honda Technology Research Industry Co., Ltd., was founded in 1948 and has more than 130 production bases in 29 countries and regions around the world. Among them, Guangzhou Automobile Honda was established on July 1, 1998, a joint venture company jointly funded by Guangzhou Automobile Group and Honda Technology Research Industry Co., Ltd., each holding 50% of the shares. The cooperation life is 30 years. The main products include Accord series sedans, Odyssey multi-function cars, Feido series cars and CITY Fengfan series sedans with a total of four series and 21 kinds of models. Dongfeng Honda was founded on July 16, 2003. it is a vehicle production and operation enterprise jointly established by Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. And Honda Technology Research Industry Co., Ltd., whose main products include CRV, Civic, Ericsson, XRV and so on.

At present, both GM and Honda have good sales performance in the domestic market, among which GM retail sales in the domestic market exceeded 610000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, according to first-quarter sales figures released by GM China today. According to the latest sales figures released by Honda China today, Honda sold 353786 terminal vehicles in China from January to March this year, of which GAC Honda sold 184850 and Dongfeng Honda sold 168936. Honda sold 101061 terminal cars in China in March, compared with 53700 for Guangzhou Auto and 47361 for Dongfeng Honda in March.

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