Representatives of Honda are set to meet with senior government officials this week as rumours circulate that the Japanese automaker may be looking to open an $18.4 billion electric vehicle plant in Canada.
This follows a meeting last month between senior executives from Honda Canada and Honda Global and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, according to CBC News.
Nikkei Asia, a Japanese news outlet, reported that Honda has been toying with the idea of making an $18.4 billion investment in Canada to build an EV plant that would also manufacture batteries.
According to the report, Honda is expected to make its final decision on the project before the end of 2024, with a potential opening date for as early as 2028.
The Japanese automaker is still scouting several potential locations for the plant, including Alliston, Ont., where it already has an existing facility.
Honda has a target goal of producing only EV’s by the year 2040 and is currently looking into “a number of initiatives” to make that a reality, noted a spokesperson for the company.
“Currently, we are focused on the EV Hub we are establishing in Ohio, where we will begin production of EVs and EV batteries in North America in late 2025,” said the spokesperson.
Champagne would not comment publicly on the potential Honda deal but did say that his government was working to promote Canada as a country at the forefront of EV production to get the attention of investors.
“Reports about Honda looking to make a significant investment in Canada speaks to the quality of (Canada’s) workforce and the strength of our industry,” said Champagne in a statement.
Several deals were announced last year with major EV battery producers like Stellantis-LGES, Northvolt and Volkswagen, all with federal and provincial government investment behind them.
Governments estimate that investment to be $37.7 billion over the next decade, with $32.8 billion going towards production subsidies and $4.9 billion to aid building costs.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, 62% of the costs will be paid for by the federal government and the remaining 38% will be covered by provincial governments.
The high level of corporate welfare involved in these recent deals has been the subject of some controversy.
That was even before it was made public that the Stellantis plant intends to use temporary foreign workers from South Korea to set up the plant, which could see a loss of $300 million to Canadians.
