Honda plans for 240,000 EVS per year, 1,000 jobs

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. on Thursday announced plans to build Canada’s first comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain in Alliston, Ont. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the deal:

$15 BILLION: OVERALL COST OF PROJECT

The project will see the Japanese automaker build four manufacturing plants in Ontario. The supply chain will include Honda’s first EV assembly plant as well as a stand-alone battery manufacturing plant at Honda’s facilities in Alliston. It will also include a new CAM/PCAM processing facility through a joint venture partnership with Korean battery materials company POSCO Future M Co., Ltd., and a separator plant through a joint venture with Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei Corp.

$5 BILLION: VALUE OF GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES

It is estimated that Honda could benefit from a total of $5 billion in government incentives, split evenly between the federal government and the province. Federal support will be in the range of $2.5 billion through the government’s proposed EV Supply Chain investment tax credit and the proposed Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit, in addition to support of up to $2.5 billion through various incentives from the Government of Ontario. The federal government is also expected to offer 10 per cent tax credits on the cost of constructing buildings, and 30 per cent on the cost of new machinery and equipment.

1,000: NUMBER OF TOTAL JOBS

The company currently employs over 4,200 people in Alliston and has a network of more than 280 dealerships across the country. The EV assembly plant and battery plant are expected to create more than 1,000 union manufacturing jobs. Two other components of the deal — the CAM/PCAM processing plant and separator plant — are expected to help create thousands of additional jobs across Canada. Many of those will come during the construction phase and through knock-on effects on Ontario’s other auto parts companies.

240,000: NUMBER OF VEHICLES PLANT CAN PRODUCE EACH YEAR

Once operational in 2028, the assembly plant will be capable of producing up to 240,000 vehicles per year. Honda’s existing facilities in Canada currently include two auto plants and one engine plant, with the total capacity to produce more than 400,000 vehicles and 190,000 engines annually. Canada’s automotive sector builds more than 1.5 million vehicles each year, contributing $18 billion in 2023 to the economy’s gross domestic product. The governments anticipate global EV sales in 2030 to be more than three times higher than 2023 levels. Planning for the facilities is expected to be finalized in the next six months.