GM and Honda are expanding their electric vehicle partnership. On Tuesday, the two giant automakers announced they're codeveloping a range of affordable EVs. These future products will share a new global architecture and use GM's Ultium battery technology.

Starting in 2027, this trans-Pacific partnership aims to produce millions of electric vehicles. This push includes a focus on compact crossovers, which compete in the largest vehicle segment in the world, one that represents an annual sales volume of around 13 million units. GM and Honda will leverage their respective technologies, design capabilities and sourcing strategies to deliver world-class quality and greater affordability. Standardized equipment and manufacturing processes should help in these areas, too.

Naturally, the two automakers will also collaborate on future battery technology. The goal is to drive down the cost of electrification while improving vehicle performance and sustainability. Both GM and Honda are hard at work developing solid-state batteries, which promise to offer numerous benefits over existing energy-storage technologies. GM is also working to accelerate lithium-metal and silicon battery technology and is refining its manufacturing capabilities to improve production.

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"GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale," said GM CEO Mary Barra, "including our key markets in North America, South America and China." This will play a major role in the company's push to eliminate the tailpipe emissions of light-duty vehicles sold in the US by 2035, before going completely carbon neutral in its products and operations by 2040.

"Honda is committed to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said, "which requires driving down the cost of electric vehicles to make EV ownership possible for the greatest number of customers." He also added Honda and GM's expanded collaboration will dramatically increase the sales of electric vehicles.

This is not the first time GM and Honda have teamed up. In the early 2000s, for instance, GM offered Honda's 3.5-liter V6 in the now-defunct Saturn Vue utility vehicle. The two companies have also been working on fuel cells and hydrogen storage systems since 2013. Beyond that, in 2020 they also announced plans to jointly develop two EVs, including the Honda Prologue, which is slated to launch in early 2024. GM and Honda are also collaborating on self-driving vehicle technology.