NEW YORK: Japan's Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. of the United States said Thursday they will jointly develop two new electric vehicles for release as 2024 Honda-brand models in the United States and Canada.

The new models will be developed based on GM's global EV platform powered by the U.S. auto giant's proprietary Ultium batteries.

Honda will design the exterior and interior of the new models, which will be manufactured at GM plants in North America.

GM hopes to achieve economies of scale through the new models' utilization of its EV platform, while Honda expects to save on costs as compared to independent development.

The two automakers have already been collaborating in the fields of fuel cell vehicles and self-driving cars.

The collaboration in electric vehicle development "will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers," Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said in a statement.

JIJI Press