Honda and CATL create EV based on Honda Fit
Honda is planning a large EV project together with the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. The declared goal is to create an electric vehicle based on the Honda compact Fit.
The cooperatively created vehicle will be marketed globally, and feature a 300 km range and cost around 15,600 euro (2 million Yen). It will likely be released on the market in early 2020.
Honda is planning on selling more than 10,000 units of the vehicle per year, the report continued. The cooperation between Honda and CATL will also be expanded to include further vehicle development in future. By 2030, Honda is planning on EVs making up around 65% of their total income.
The new partnership between Honda and CATL also demonstrates the trend of Chinese suppliers getting increasingly directly involved in vehicle manufacturing around the globe, often supplying core components. Particularly with Japanese suppliers the trend is new, as there are a few local alternatives, such as Panasonic and others. But Honda is not an individual case; recently Nissan also announced their intention to work with CATL for their Sylphy EV, which is also designed for the Chinese market.
Recently CATL has been amassing contracts from leading vehicle manufacturers, including Renault, Volkswagen, PSA, BMW and Daimler. By the end of 2020, the Chinese battery manufacturers plan to double their production capacity to 50 gigawatt hours.
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