Japanese auto giant Honda announced Thursday the largest automotive investment in Canada's history, worth $15 billion, for a massive new EV battery and vehicle assembly plant.
Honda chief executive Toshihiro Mibe told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials that electric vehicles will start rolling off the new assembly line in 2028.
Once fully operational, the factory will have a production capacity of 240,000 vehicles per year, and a batteries output of 36 GWh per year.
"The world is changing rapidly, and we must work toward realizing carbon neutrality to sustain the global environment," Mibe said.
Honda estimates that 1,000 new jobs will be created at the facility, which is to be built next to its existing Civic and CR-V assembly plants north of Toronto that already employ 4,200 workers.
Trudeau touted Ottawa's efforts to set up "a whole ecosystem" around the production of electric batteries, positioning Canada as an attractive destination for electric vehicle investment, with generous tax incentives, renewable energy access and its rare mineral deposits.
