Auto EV, China also attracts Honda, here’s how
Honda has started work on opening two electric car plants in China. The Japanese giant intends to increase production in the Asian country by 16% and churn out 1.73 million units within the next two years
China really looks set to become the country with the largest number of electric car gigafactories. Moreover, a recent research published by the German think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies ( we talked about it here ) certifies this, which underlines how more and more foreign companies decide to set up their factories in the Asian country; This is demonstrated, at an empirical level, by the press notes of the giants of the sector that communicate the opening of new branches. Not least that spread by the two and four wheel brand founded by Soichiro Honda.
ALL PLANS OF HONDA IN CHINA
As reported by the news agency Energia Oltre , Honda has announced that it has started construction of the new electric car factory based in Guangzhou, also known as Canton, a large port city that extends north-west of Hong Kong, on the river of Pearls. The new plant will be used to produce zero-emission cars and will be built in a joint venture with the Chinese giant Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAG).
GAC Honda's electric vehicle manufacturing plant, for which the parties have already arranged an investment of 3.49 billion yuan, or 500 million euros, will be built on a 400,000 square meter lot within the district. Economic and Technological Development Center in Guangdong Province. The plant, the Japanese manufacturer said, should go into operation in 2024 with an annual production capacity of 120,000 units.
The gigafactory, the Group emphasizes, will proactively pursue sustainable initiatives, including the use of solar energy and other renewable energy sources. Additionally, by adopting a number of advanced manufacturing technologies, GAC Honda will strive to make it a highly efficient, intelligent and low-carbon EV system.
THE SECOND JOINT VENTURE
Currently, Honda is the fourth largest automotive manufacturer in the world, present in 150 markets on the planet, but apparently for the challenge of the electric transition it has chosen, just like many other competitors, the USA and the EU ( we always talked about it here ) focus on China. For this reason, the Minato company (the headquarters in Japan) has started work on a second gigafactory in the Asian country, this time in a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor.
The continuous and close recourse to partnerships with local players should not come as a surprise: until 31 December 2021, those interested in entering the Chinese market had to form joint ventures with 50% shareholdings with indigenous companies to guarantee immediate access to the local market. Parastate joint ventures served to protect Beijing from the fact that not only profits but also technology remained an integral part of the Chinese economy to help national companies grow in terms of know-how above all.
The second plant will also be focused exclusively on EV cars and will be launched in 2024. According to Honda's plans, the two gigafactories will allow it, once fully operational, to increase Chinese production by 16% and to churn out at least 1.73 million. electric car units within the next two years. Moreover, the Japanese company will need plants at full capacity if it wants to keep up with the ambitious objectives contained in its maxi electric industrial plan of 5 trillion yen, equal to about 36.75 billion euros, spread over the next ten years to achieve electric cars and developing next-generation software. The investment will bring 30 new zero-emission models to market with the intention of producing 2 million battery-powered cars per year starting in 2030.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/auto-ev-la-cina-attrae-anche-honda-ecco-come/ on Fri, 24 Jun 2022 06:27:54 +0000.