Honda and General Motors have been in bed since 2013 to develop fuel cells for electric vehicles, but the two automakers may get under the covers soon.
Reuters reports the Japanese and American automaker are considering a joint fuel cell plant to lower the development costs associated with fuel cell technology. These are exactly the “strategic partnerships” GM CEO Mary Barra spoke about after refusing Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s calls for merging.
The report adds both automakers are eying up a 2025 date to begin mass production of fuel cells, but both automakers would continue to develop their own architectures and vehicles for fuel cell application.
Comment
Although I would prefer to see GM go it alone on fuel cell development as they have on their EV and PHEV programs to gain a strategic advantage over the competition, it is evident that these experimental powertrains will require massive sums of development dollars and are decades away from mass market so partnering makes business sense.