The Japanese automaker is getting ready for the era beyond Ultium-based models.
Honda- Honda revealed plans for new joint venture with LG Energy Solution that will produce battery modules in Ohio.
- The automaker plans to retool several of its plants in Ohio to produce EVs based on the e:Architecture platform set to arrive after 2025.
- The upcoming Honda Prologue and its Acura sibling will be built on GM’s Ultium platform, before Honda sets up EV production stateside.
With the Honda Prologue on the way, the Japanese automaker is finally serious about getting into the EV game. But the recently revealed electric crossover is just the start—Honda will need a plant for EVs and batteries here in the US soon, as it sketches out the rest of its lineup set to arrive after 2025.
This week the automaker revealed just where its EV center will be based, with several sites in Ohio slated to become Honda’s electric hub.
Honda indicated that it will spend $700 million to re-tool its Marysville Auto Plant (MAP), East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP), and Anna Engine Plant (AEP) for EV production, slated to start in 2026. The automaker also plans to invest $3.5 billion in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution (LGES) to build a plant for battery module production in Ohio as well.
The announcement was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Marysville plant’s launch announcement from 45 years ago, on October 11, 1977. The vehicles that will be produced in Ohio will sit on Honda’s own e:Architecture, rather than GM’s Ultium platform that will underpin the upcoming Prologue.
“Honda is proud of our history in Ohio, where our US manufacturing operations began more than four decades ago. Now, as we expand Honda’s partnership with Ohio, we are investing in a workforce that will create the power source for our future Honda and Acura electric vehicles,” said Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda pulled the plug on its Clarity EV in 2019.
Honda
The joint venture with LGES will be based in Fayette County, with construction set to start in 2023 and expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Honda expects the plant to feature an annual production capacity of 40 GWh, with the automaker set to start producing battery modules using the advanced pouch-type lithium-ion cells by 2025.
“This is a very challenging time for our entire industry, but also a very exciting time as Honda invests in full electric vehicle production in the Buckeye State,” said Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Honda has built hybrid-electric vehicles in Ohio for a number of years, and the experience and expertise of our associates in manufacturing, product development, and purchasing will serve as an important foundation as we transition to the electrified future,” Nelson added.
It is worth noting that the upcoming e:Architecture, and even the Honda Prologue, won’t be the automaker’s first EVs to be sold stateside.
Just a few years ago Honda offered the Clarity Electric sedan in a handful of states, withdrawing it in 2019 amid poor sales, which would explain why you probably haven’t seen one on the road. And today Honda offers an electric hatchback in Europe. But its mass-market electric-vehicle efforts in North America have taken a very roundabout path to gaining market share; Honda is now behind the curve, relying on GM tech for just two models, one Acura-badged, until the arrival of e:Architecture models in 2026.
While it’s yet not known what the EV market of 2026 will look like, right now it’s clear that until then Honda and Acura will have just one EV model each to choose from.
Whether that timing is just right or too late given the current demand for EVs—and how it positions Honda for the second part of the decade—remains to be seen.
Jay Ramey Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum.
Keyword: This Is Where Honda Will Build Its American EV Hub