Honda just secured enough battery capacity to put 1 million EVs on the road
Honda is teaming up with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL as its best known, to supply batteries for over 1 million electric vehicles.
CATL supplying 123 GWh of batteries to power Honda EVs
The Japanese automaker and CATL jointly announced Thursday that Honda would purchase 123 GWh of batteries to power fully electric vehicles in China.
Honda and CATL initially signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership for EV batteries in 2019. As part of the agreement, Honda would receive a supply of around 56 GWh of lithium-ion batteries before 2027.
Meanwhile, Honda (and most Japanese automakers) has been relatively slow compared to other companies outside of Japan to embrace fully electric transportation.
To compensate for lost time, Honda has primarily worked with others that have established technology. For example, Honda’s first mass-market electric vehicle in North America – the Prologue – will be based on General Motors (GM) Ultium EV platform.
In October 2021, Honda introduced a new “e:N Series” EV brand, vowing all new models sold after 2030 will be electric, but only in China to start.
The automaker introduced its first Honda-branded EV models in China this past April, the e:NS1 and e:NP1. Starting with the two e:N Series models, Honda plans to unveil 10 EVs in China by 2027.
Honda’s new partnership with CATL will be critical as it scales the production of its EV series in a highly competitive Chinese market. From 2024 to 2030, CATL will fulfill the 123 GWh EV battery capacity, which is enough to power well over 1 million electric vehicles.
The Japanese automaker strives to sell 800,000 EVs in China in 2030, and its expanded partnership with CATL will help secure the long-term battery supply needed to get there.
Electrek’s Take
Can Honda overcome the odds and sell 800,000 electric vehicles by the end of the decade, or will it be too little too late?
China accounted for over 56% of global electric vehicle sales in the first half of the year, with EV makers like BYD, NIO, and XPENG expanding sales and production quickly.
Either way, it’s encouraging to see Honda digging deeper into electric vehicles by building out crucial aspects of its supply chain. Although Honda’s EV efforts will largely be based around the Chinese market initially, the automaker mentioned it “envisions exporting these models from China.”
The new battery supply agreement is a good foundation, but we will see how Honda follows through. The longer Honda waits, the harder it will be to earn its position in the rapidly evolving auto industry.
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Hyundai is about to launch a new electric SUV in China. With its big debut coming up, Hyundai just dropped a sneak peek, and it looks like it could be the IONIQ 4. Check it out for yourself in the video below.
Is Hyundai teasing the IONIQ 4?
We caught our first glimpse of the new EV model last month after Beijing Hyundai released a few official “spy” photos.
Despite the camouflage, you can see a few design elements, like a light bar across the front, slim LED headlights, and a closed-off grille. At first, it almost looks like a smaller version of the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV, but with a much sportier, shaped profile.
Beijing Hyundai released a new teaser for the upcoming electric SUV this week. The video shows “a wave of high-end operations” as the vehicle dances across the snow.
The video highlights features like real-time torque control, high-speed cornering, and the SUV’s impressive body control while driving around cones.
Hyundai’s new electric SUV is being called “OE” internally, according to The Korean Car Blog, suggesting it could be an IONIQ model.
All other Hyundai IONIQ EV models were also codenamed with an “E” internally, which is raising speculation that this could be the IONIQ 4.
Like most global OEMs, Hyundai is fighting to compete in an intense Chinese EV market, which is dominated by domestic automakers like BYD.
Hyundai opened its first overseas R&D center last year in China to spearhead its comeback. It will work with local suppliers and tech companies to develop EVs designed for Chinese buyers. The new electric SUV is expected to launch in China later this year, followed by three new energy vehicles, including EVs and EREVs.
Beijing Hyundai will release more information on April 16, with the electric SUV set to “challenge the limit of driving performance.”
What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric SUV? Is this the IONIQ 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Charge point provider char.gy has secured a £130 million contract to install 6,000 curbside EV chargers for Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) – the UK’s largest installation of its kind.
London-based char.gy has also been awarded a 15-year contract to operate and maintain the charging network.
Installing Level 2 chargers curbside, where most drivers in the UK park, will enable more people to take advantage of cheaper charging rates while juicing up their EVs overnight. (charg.gy’s pay as you go night tariff, between midnight and 7 am, is £0.39/kWh, compared to its £0.59/kWh day tariff.)
John Lewis, chief executive of char.gy, said the project is “a huge moment for the UK and its EV ambitions. This partnership alone will empower thousands of residents to confidently make the switch to electric vehicles, knowing they have easy access to chargers.”
Brighton and Hove City Council is among the first to tap into the government’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, designed to help English local authorities roll out charging solutions for residents without off-street parking. Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said making EV charging as accessible as possible is “crucial to making the switch to electric a success.”
The UK now has over 75,000 public EV chargers, according to the Department for Transport—and it looks like the country’s on pace to hit its 2030 target. Back in December, the National Audit Office said the rollout is “on track” to meet the DfT’s estimate that at least 300,000 chargers will be needed by the end of the decade.
Read more: Meet the UK’s largest solar + storage EV charging ‘Superhub’
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