The Japanese automaker, which already produces the Civic and the CR-V in Canada, announced Thursday that it will add capacity to assemble 240,000 EVs per year at its complex in Alliston, Ont., and build a standalone EV battery plant there. It is also planning Ontario-based joint ventures with South Korean chemical company Posco Future M, to make battery-cathode material, and Asahi Kasei, which is building a ¥180-billion ($1.6-billion) plant for separators, another battery part. (The Logic)

Talking point: Officials said the new supply chain represents both Honda’s biggest-ever North American investment, and Canada’s biggest-ever automotive announcement, nearly tripling the more than $6 billion that Honda has invested in its Canadian operations since 1986. Tax credits announced in the federal budget will give Honda about $2.5 billion in federal support, while the Ontario government has pledged another $2.5 billion “through various direct and indirect incentives.” Asahi Kasei said it also expects to receive federal and provincial financial support, on top of an equity investment from the Development Bank of Japan. The Honda-operated assembly and battery plants are expected to employ about 1,000 workers.