Honda and General Motors SCRAP $5 billion plan to develop cheaper EVs – Daily Mail

By Helena Kelly Assistant Consumer Editor For Dailymail.Com
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Automakers Honda and General Motors have ditched a $5 billion plan to create more affordable electric vehicles amidst an industry-wide slowdown in EV development. 
The manufacturers agreed in April 2022 that they would combine powers to slash the battery costs on eco cars and develop vehicles below GM’s $30,000 Chevrolet Equinox. The partnership was intended to compete with Elon Musk‘s Tesla which has aggressively cut prices this year
But today Honda CEO Toshiro Mibe confirmed the project had been cancelled, citing cost and logistical challenges. 
He told Bloomberg: ‘After studying for a year, we decided that this would be difficult as a business, so at the moment we are ending development of an affordable EV. 
‘GM and Honda will search for a solution separately. The project itself has been cancelled.’
Automakers Honda and General Motors have ditched a $5 billion plan to create more affordable electric vehicles amidst an industry-wide slowdown in EV development
President Biden has previously pledged to make half of all car sales electric by 2030
He did not mention the strike organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against GM, Ford and Stellantis which is causing difficulties for manufacturers. GM has claimed the action is costing its company $200 million a week.
Honda confirmed the news did not change its ambition to only sell electric vehicles by 2040.
Mibe’s comments come as a host of automakers struggle to keep up with their ambitious EV rollout plans. President Biden has previously pledged to make half of all car sales electric by 2030.
But more affordable electric cars are crucial to encouraging their mass adoption. And manufacturers have been struggling to ramp up production and lower costs at the same time.
GM warned earlier in the week that it can no longer say whether it will achieve its profit forecast of $14 billion this year. The manufacturer has also delayed production of its Chevrolet Silverado, citing slowing demand. 
Meanwhile Ford announced last week it would lay off around 700 workers at its Detroit plant which manufacturers the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. 
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also told investors during an earnings call last week that it was struggling to ramp up production of its much-anticipated ‘Cybertruck’. Musk said the company had ‘dug our own grave’ with the plan.
At the weekend Ford Motor Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley warned electric cars had become ‘a political football.’ Commentators have speculated Biden’s support for the vehicles could tank his re-election chances next year.
In a recent statewide survey of Michigan voters, Trump led Biden 46 percent to 43 percent among the state’s United Auto Workers union members. 
The drop in Biden’s numbers among union workers is thought to be due to the president’s vocal support of EVs which employees worry could threaten their jobs.
GM warned earlier in the week that it can no longer say whether it will achieve its profit forecast of $14 billion this year
Support for EVs from the Biden administration has taken the form of an active push to embrace the cars by his Energy Department, as well as extending tax credits to EV buyers and subsidizing their manufacturing.
The current administration’s plan has come under fire by Republicans who wish to oust Biden in 2024 and are arguing that green EV policy will eliminate American auto-industry jobs and ultimately force unpopular policy like California’s future zero-emissions vehicle sales mandate.
Trump and Biden have both spent time in Michigan addressing the issue in recent weeks.
The former predicted that Biden’s EV policies would lead to ‘hundreds of thousands of American jobs’ being eliminated.
‘I don’t get why Ford and GM, why these carmakers, aren’t fighting … to make cars that are going to sell, to make cars that are going to be able to go on long distances,’ he said during a rally last month.
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