MONTREAL (AFP) – Japanese auto giant Honda will open an electric vehicle plant in eastern Canada, a government source familiar with the multibillion-dollar project told AFP on Monday.
The federal government as well as the province of Ontario, where the plant will be built, will both provide some financial incentives for the deal, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official announcement is due tomorrow, though Ontario premier Doug Ford hinted at the deal on Monday.
“This week, we’ve landed a new deal. It will be the largest deal in Canadian history. It’ll be double the size of Volkswagen,” he said, referring to a battery plant announced last year, for which the German automaker pledged CAD7 billion (USD5 billion) in investment.
Canada in recent years has been positioning itself as an attractive destination for electric vehicle investment, touting tax incentives, renewable energy access and its rare mineral deposits.
The Honda plant, to be built an hour outside Toronto, in Alliston, will also produce electric-vehicle batteries, joining existing Volkswagen and Stellantis battery plants.
In January, when news of the deal first bubbled up in the Japanese press, the Nikkei newspaper estimated it would be worth CAD14 billion – numbers backed up by Canadian officials recently.
In the federal budget announced last week, the government introduced a new business tax credit, granting companies a 10 per cent rebate on construction costs for new buildings used in key segments of the electric vehicle supply chain.
