GM forms alliance with Honda to develop future products

General Motors and Honda will expand their partnership to cooperate on developing future vehicles by sharing the underpinnings, or platforms, on both gas-fueled and electric cars.

Neither company said how much it planned to spend on the partnership.

The two automakers announced plans last April to collaborate on two new electric vehicles. Before that, they were combining resources on fuel cell technology and on a self-driving model called Cruise Origin, which originated with GM GM -4.8%’s Cruise Automation subsidiary.

Planning for the new partnership will start now, the two companies said, with engineering work beginning in early 2021, GM said.

“Overall, we believe this alliance would help both companies realize significant cost savings in developing our vehicle portfolios,” said GM President Mark Reuss, in a statement. “For GM, the substantial amount of money we would save as a result of this would help fund our vision of an all-electric future.”

Seiji Kuraishi, Honda executive vice president, concurred that an important goal was to save money.

“Combining the strengths of each company, and by carefully determining what we will do on our own and what we will do in collaboration, we will strive to build a win-win relationship to create new value for our customers,” Kuraishi said in a statement.

GM’s goal is to introduce 20 new electric vehicle models by 2023. Last month, its Cadillac luxury brand unveiled the Lyriq, an all-electric SUV that is expected to go on sale in about two years.