Honda Motor Co. will invest an estimated $462 million (3 billion yuan) in a Chinese joint-venture company to increase its electric-vehicle capacity in that country, according to Japanese media reports. The plan is to add capacity for 120,000 EVs, with production starting in February 2024.
Guangqi Honda Automobile Co. Ltd., or GAC-Honda, is jointly owned by Honda and GAC Group, producing Honda vehicles for the Chinese market, as well as one locally-branded model.
One of four GAC-Honda plants, in the city of Guangzhou, will be expanded by 186,000 sq.m., with construction beginning in the fourth quarter of this year.
GAC-Honda has four plants in Guangzhou and currently produces 770,000 vehicles per year.
Specific models of EVs to be produced have not been announced, according to the media source, which cited details available in a bid application for the construction program.
