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Honda (HMC) Selects Ohio for Its $4.4B JV Battery Plant

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With the automotive future being electric, automakers and battery firms are spending unprecedented sums of money for electric vehicle (EV) battery production in North America. To that end, Japanese auto giant Honda (HMC - Free Report) had inked a deal with LG Energy to invest $4.4 billion in a U.S. battery plant in late August. At that time, the companies hadn’t revealed the location of the plant. Yesterday, Honda announced that it has chosen Fayette County, OH, to build its multibillion-dollar plant in a joint venture (JV) with LG Energy to make batteries for EVs. Construction of the new facility is expected to commence in early 2023. The mass production of lithium-ion batteries will begin by the end of 2025.The facility is expected to provide jobs to around 2,200 people.

Additionally, Honda also announced its plans to spend $700 million to retool some of its existing plants to boost the production of EVs. The company is set to start production and sales of EVs in North America in 2026. Honda currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

As auto giants are fast changing their gears, a new wave of investment related to EV battery production is underway. In a bid to position itself to take advantage of the growing EV popularity, North America is fast emerging as a battery supply chain hub for EVs, thereby challenging China’s dependence. Automakers are working toward reducing foreign reliance and localizing battery production. 

With batteries serving as the secret sauce for EVs, other auto biggies, including General Motors (GM - Free Report) , Ford (F - Free Report) and Toyota (TM - Free Report) are fast enhancing their investments in battery production in North America, especially the United States.

U.S. legacy automaker General Motors is building three battery cell factories in the United States in partnership with LG Energy. The companies will jointly spend roughly $7 billion on the construction of these factories. The three factories will be located in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. While production at the Ohio plant begins this year, operations at Tennessee and Michigan factories will commence in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

GM’s close peer Ford is building twin battery plants in central Kentucky and a technologically-advanced mega campus (for vehicle and battery designing) in Tennessee. Ford has partnered with SK Innovation, and the firms will together invest $11.4 billion (with Ford’s share being $7 billion) for the same. Operations at the twin lithium-ion battery plants in Kentucky are expected to commence in 2025 and will supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with locally-assembled batteries for powering the next-generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Japan’s top automaker Toyota will build its first battery factory in the United States in North Carolina to bring its EV supply chain to the country. TM plans to invest $1.29 billion in the battery plant to be named Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina. Production is anticipated to commence in 2025.  The investment is part of Toyota’s wider commitment to invest $3.4 billion (380 billion yen) for automotive battery development and production in the United States through 2030.

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