Battery maker warns demand could slow for EVs as GM-Honda partnership falls apart

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A top EV battery maker warned Wednesday that revenue growth could slow in 2024 because of sputtering growth in major economies such as China and Europe, as well as high interest rates making loans too expensive for would-be buyers.

«EV demand next year could be lower than expectations,» LGES Chief Financial Officer Lee Chang-sil said on an earnings call, citing those factors, as well as automakers adjusting their EV strategies in response.

On the same day, Honda and GM announced the end of a $5 billion partnership to develop affordable EVs together just one year after launching the effort. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe revealed the news in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg. 

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«After studying this for a year, we decided that this would be difficult as a business, so at the moment, we are ending development of an affordable EV,» Mibe told the outlet. 

In a joint statement, GM and Honda said they have discontinued the affordable EV program announced last year. 

«Together, GM and Honda are working on co-developed electrified vehicles, advancing state-of-the-art fuel cell technology, autonomous ride-hail vehicles — now expanding our efforts globally with the recent announcement in Japan and other areas that will transform