Nearly 10 years after the hallmark partnership between Tesla and Panasonic to produce EV batteries for Tesla cars, General Motors and Honda have signed a similar agreement for EV battery development. EV battery development is serious business, and the two companies are already involved in developing fuel cells. Although no commercials were provided for the deal, we do know that Honda has agreed to buy battery modules from GM’s Michigan plant.
According to GM’s head of global product development and supply chain, Mark Reuss:
“This new, multi-year agreement with Honda further demonstrates General Motors’ capability to innovate toward a profitable electric portfolio.”
In case you don’t speak management-ese, that roughly translates to:
“Tesla is putting fires under all our asses with the Model 3 and its successes despite massive challenges and we’re finally doing something about it on the EV battery front even though we should be in the drivers seat considering our 100-year history.”
GM and other traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) car makers are moving fast and furious trying to mobilize whatever assets they can and put it into what they’ve always considered a rival industry. Now, they’re adopting it with open arms after Tesla helped blazed the trail and make way for some real mass-market EV possibilities.
Despite the gigantic size of these and other Tesla competitors, their entrenchment in ICE production and their significant investments in ICE tech and production platforms make it hard for them to move quickly. Besides, it’s going to be a steep uphill challenge just to get their sales from EVs to surpass their ICE car sales.
Meanwhile, Tesla is breaking barrier after barrier in its quest to deliver all the committed Model 3s to their respective owners. There’s no question now that Tesla will succeed. The only question that remains is this: how much longer before other car makers can even think of matching Tesla’s performance on the road and on their books?
