Honda, LG Set to Build $4.4 Billion EV Battery Plant in US

Honda is partnering with LG to build a $4.4 billion EV battery plant in the United States. A location hasn't been finalized but Ohio is a reported frontrunner.


Honda Motor Co. and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. will spend $4.4 billion to build a new battery plant in the US as the Japanese carmaker seeks to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles completely by 2040.

The facility will have an annual capacity of about 40 gigawatt-hours with mass production slated to start at the end of 2025, Honda said Monday in a company filing. The duo will set up a joint venture this year in which Honda will hold 49% stake by investing $1.7 billion. Construction is expected to start by early 2023.

The location of the plant is not decided. Bloomberg reported in June that Ohio is a front-runner, and the Japanese firm already has carmaking plants there.

Carmakers around the world are scrambling to build electric car or EV battery plants in North America by partnering with Asian battery makers. Panasonic Holdings Corp., which supplies electric car batteries to Tesla Inc., is in talks to invest $4 billion in a battery plant in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. Korean battery makers also have a slew of plans for battery plants in the US, constructing four for General Motors Co., two for Stellantis NV and three for Ford Motor Co.

Honda meanwhile plans to spend 5 trillion yen ($36 billion) on its push into EVs over the next decade by launching some 30 new models, one of the most aggressive expansions of electrification in Japan. The new plant will produce pouch-type cells for Honda and Acura’s EVs.