General Motors and Honda today announced they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding following extensive preliminary discussions toward establishing a North American automotive alliance. The scope of the proposed alliance includes a range of vehicles to be sold under each company’s distinct brands, as well as cooperation in purchasing, research and development, and connected services.Under the proposed alliance, Honda and GM would collaborate on a variety of segments in North America, intending to share common vehicle platforms, including both electrified and internal combustion propulsion systems that align with the vehicle platforms.  The announcement builds on the agreement signed between the companies in April to jointly develop two all-new electric vehicles for Honda based on GM’s highly flexible global EV platform powered by Ultium batteries. The GM-Honda relationship, which began more than two decades ago, includes recent collaboration between the companies on fuel cells, batteries and the Cruise Origin shared autonomous vehicle.

“This alliance will help both companies accelerate investment in future mobility innovation by freeing up additional resources. Given our strong track record of collaboration, the companies would realize significant synergies in the development of today’s vehicle portfolio,” said Mark Reuss, president of General Motors.  Co-development planning discussions will begin immediately, with engineering work beginning in early 2021.