It’s not uncommon for major automakers to team up on projects, share knowledge, and try to come up with ideas that benefit all parties. The latest there is and . Through their collaboration, they hope to increase their competitiveness while trying to reduce the costs and risks associated with new technology development.
The two companies have signed a non-binding agreement, and they will immediately begin evaluating joint opportunities and working on binding agreements. According to GM CEO Mary Barran, the goal is to “unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently.”
Projects the two sides are looking to work on include the joint development and production of passenger and commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines, and electric and hydrogen clean energy technologies. They will also explore supply chain efficiencies – for products like battery raw materials and steel, combined sourcing can save them both. GM and Hyundai will explore how to do all this while leveraging their scale and cutting costs.
It may be a while before we see any of those efforts pay off, but it’s smart for automakers to come together and try to cut costs, especially since the EV market is a bit tough. For example, Ford’s EV division is on the way .
Of course, there are other types of partnerships between car manufacturers. Volkswagen and Rivian in June the former is expected to invest $3 billion in the EV company and an additional $2 billion in the joint venture between the two parties.
