General Motors and Hyundai recently announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration on green technologies, such as fuel-cell vehicles and electric vehicle battery manufacturing. This non-binding agreement marks the first step towards a potential partnership between the two automakers, with a focus on leveraging their combined economies of scale to drive down costs.
The collaboration projects being considered include co-development and production of both passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as internal combustion engines and various clean-energy technologies like electric and hydrogen powertrains. Additionally, GM and Hyundai will explore opportunities for joint sourcing of battery raw materials, steel, and other necessary components.
GM has already secured enough battery raw materials to support its goal of achieving an annual North American production capacity of 1 million electric vehicles by 2025. However, the company has faced challenges in ramping up its Ultium hardware, causing it to reassess its target. This potential partnership with Hyundai could help GM overcome some of these obstacles and continue its push towards electrification.
This isn’t GM’s first foray into partnerships with other automakers in the electric vehicle space. The company has an existing partnership with Honda, which has resulted in the production of electric SUVs like the Acura ZDX and Honda Prologue using GM’s Ultium platform. While the partnership with Honda on affordable EVs was cut short, the two companies continue to collaborate on hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
On the other hand, Honda is now focusing on developing electric vehicles in-house, aiming to achieve 2 million annual EV sales by the end of the decade with its 0 Series of next-generation electric vehicles. The company is also working with Sony on the Afeela EV brand. With Honda’s shift in focus, GM has an opportunity to bring in another automaker partner for its future electrification plans.
Overall, the potential partnership between GM and Hyundai holds promise for advancing green technologies in the automotive industry and accelerating the transition towards electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. By combining their expertise and resources, these two automakers could drive innovation and make sustainable mobility more accessible to consumers.
