General Motors and Honda Motor Co. announced Thursday they have signed a memorandum of understanding toward establishing a North American automotive alliance.

According to a jointly issued statement, the “scope of the proposed alliance includes a range of vehicles to be sold under each company’s distinct brands, as well as cooperation in purchasing, research and development, and connected services.”

Honda, with North American headquarters in Torrance, and GM “would collaborate on a variety of segments in North America, intending to share common vehicle platforms, including both electrified and internal combustion propulsion systems that align with the vehicle platforms.”

Co-development planning discussions will begin immediately, with engineering work expected to begin early next year.

The announcement builds on the agreement signed between the companies in April to jointly develop two all-new electric vehicles for Honda based on GM’s global EV platform powered by Ultium batteries.

The GM-Honda relationship, which began more than two decades ago, includes recent collaborations on fuel cells, batteries and the Cruise Origin shared autonomous vehicle.

“This alliance will help both companies accelerate investment in future mobility innovation by freeing up additional resources. Given our strong track record of collaboration, the companies would realize significant synergies in the development of today’s vehicle portfolio,” said Mark Reuss, president of General Motors.

“Through this new alliance with GM, we can achieve substantial cost efficiencies in North America that will enable us to invest in future mobility technology, while maintaining our own distinct and competitive product offerings,” said Seiji Kuraishi, executive vice president of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

“Combining the strengths of each company, and by carefully determining what we will do on our own and what we will do in collaboration, we will strive to build a win-win relationship to create new value for our customers,” Kuraishi added.

All facets of the alliance will be governed by a joint committee made up of senior executives from both companies.

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