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Honda EV production begins to take form with new battery deal

Arata Ichinose, Operating Executive and Head of Business Development at Honda Motor Company, meets with Mike O'Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements, in Westborough, Mass. The companies reached a basic agreement to collaborate on the stable supply of recycled lithium-ion battery materials for Honda electric vehicles in North America.

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Honda has partnered with Ascend Elements to recycle lithium-ion batteries and recuperate the elements into new cells.

As Honda works towards selling its first electric vehicle, the Honda Prologue, in 2024, its production and manufacturing chops for EVs are finally taking form. This includes everything from battery and drivetrain production facilities to battery cell manufacturing plants to, today, a deal to establish a battery recycling and recuperation deal with a recycler in Massachusetts.

Honda has been working with Ascend Elements to recycle lithium-ion batteries since 2021, but now, Honda is hoping to start to use the materials the recycler takes from used batteries. Specifically, Honda is focused on using recycled lithium, nickel, and cobalt in new battery cells. The deal, announced today, is implemented to help Honda achieve a perfectly circular supply chain and achieve “zero environmental impact” by 2050.

Honda did not specify the amount of material that it would be receiving from the recycler, nor did it specify when it would be able to start to use it. But this deal is just one of the many projects the company is taking on as its EV production takes form in the United States.

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The Japanese automaker has established a series of battery production deals, the first with LG Energy Solutions, in which the two companies are launching a new production facility in Ohio, and the second with GS Yuasa. However, the second supply deal will likely focus on meeting demand in Asia.

Outside of batteries, Honda continues to develop its electric drivetrain capabilities at its production facilities scattered throughout America, currently producing them for use in hybrid applications.

On top of these deals and new production locations, Honda is also working with various manufacturers to develop new electric vehicles. The Honda Prologue comes from Honda’s partnership with GM, and the two auto giants have stated that they will likely continue to cooperate “to produce affordable EVs.” Honda is also working with Sony in its Afeela joint venture, which is set to bring its first EV to market in 2026.

But perhaps most significantly, Honda’s incredibly dominant motorcycle division plans to introduce three new electric motorcycles to the United States and Europe, with a larger number of smaller models and scooters coming to Asia as well.

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If Honda can enter the EV market quickly enough, with a novel and affordable EV for everyday Americans, it could quickly become a dominant force within the market. But as other legacy brands, notably Ford, have shown, that is easier said than done. Hopefully, the automaker can deliver these products quickly, allowing more and more Americans to electrify in the coming years.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

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Tesla Supercharger left offline as Swedish court backs union strike

The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.

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Credit: NicklasNilsso14/X

Tesla’s Supercharger station in Ljungby, Sweden will remain without power after a Swedish administrative court rejected the company’s appeal to force a grid connection to the site. The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.

The court ruled that the ongoing union strike against Tesla Sweden is valid grounds for the Supercharger’s connection delay, as noted in an Allt Om Elbil report. 

The Ljungby Supercharger was one of the first charging stations that were denied grid access after IF Metall launched its strike against Tesla Sweden in late 2023. Electricians at local grid operator Ljungby Energinät were pulled into a sympathy strike by the Seko union, preventing the site’s connection.

Tesla reported both Ljungby Energinät and Gävle Energi Elnät AB to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, arguing that grid operators failed to meet their legal obligation to provide connection to the location within a reasonable time frame.

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The regulator ruled that the strike represented a valid exception under Swedish law, however, citing constitutional protections for industrial actions.

Tesla responded by appealing to the Administrative Court in Linköping, claiming it had the right to connection within a reasonable period, generally no more than two years. Tesla Sweden also argued that the country’s Electricity Act conflicts with EU law. The court rejected those arguments.

“The Administrative Court today finds that granting the company’s request in practice applies to the same thing as the blockade and that it would mean that the blockade would be ineffective. 

“Such a decision would contradict the principle that labor market conflicts should be resolved to the greatest extent possible by the labor market parties, not by the state. The industrial action is also constitutionally protected,” Chief Councilor Ronny Idstrand stated.

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The court also concluded that the Electricity Act does not conflict with EU regulations and that special reasons justified the extended delay.

While the ruling was unanimous, Tesla Sweden may appeal the decision to a higher administrative court.

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Tesla China exports 50,644 vehicles in January, up sharply YoY

The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla China exported 50,644 vehicles in January, as per data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This marks a notable increase both year-on-year and month-on-month for the American EV maker’s Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y. The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.

The CPCA’s national passenger car market analysis report indicated that total New Energy Vehicle exports reached 286,000 units in January, up 103.6% from a year earlier. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 65% of those exports.

Within that total, Tesla China shipped 50,644 vehicles overseas. By comparison, exports of Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y units totaled 29,535 units in January last year and just 3,328 units in December. 

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This suggests that Tesla China’s January 2026 exports were roughly 1.7 times higher than the same month a year ago and more than 15 times higher than December’s level, as noted in a TechWeb report.

BYD still led the January 2026 export rankings with 96,859 new energy passenger vehicles shipped overseas, though it should be noted that the automaker operates at least nine major production facilities in China, far outnumering Tesla. Overall, BYD’s factories in China have a domestic production capacity for up to 5.82 million units annually as of 2024.

Tesla China followed in second place, ahead of Geely, Chery, Leapmotor, SAIC Motor, and SAIC-GM-Wuling, each of which exported significant volumes during the month. Overall, new energy vehicles accounted for nearly half of China’s total passenger vehicle exports in January, hinting at strong overseas demand for electric cars produced in the country.

China remains one of Tesla China’s most important markets. Despite mostly competing with just two vehicles, both of which are premium priced, Tesla China is still proving quite competitive in the domestic electric vehicle market.

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Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle

After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.

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Credit: Uber

Tesla has added a new feature to its Navigation and Supercharger Map in preparation for a new vehicle to hit the road: the Semi.

After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.

Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi will enter high-volume production this year

One of those changes has been the newly-released information regarding trim levels, as well as reports that Tesla has started to reach out to customers regarding pricing information for those trims.

Now, Tesla has made an additional bit of information available to the public in the form of locations of Megachargers, the infrastructure that will be responsible for charging the Semi and other all-electric Class 8 vehicles that hit the road.

Tesla made the announcement on the social media platform X:

Although it is a minor development, it is a major indication that Tesla is preparing for the Semi to head toward mass production, something the company has been hinting at for several years.

Nevertheless, this, along with the other information that was released this week, points toward a significant stride in Tesla’s progress in the Semi project.

Now that the company has also worked toward completion of the dedicated manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada, there are more signs than ever that the vehicle is finally ready to be built and delivered to customers outside of the pilot program that has been in operation for several years.

For now, the Megachargers are going to be situated on the West Coast, with a heavy emphasis on routes like I-5 and I-10. This strategy prioritizes major highways and logistics hubs where freight traffic is heaviest, ensuring coverage for both cross-country and regional hauls.

California and Texas are slated to have the most initially, with 17 and 19 sites, respectively. As the program continues to grow, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, New York, and Nevada will have Megacharger locations as well.

For now, the Megachargers are available in Lathrop, California, and Sparks, Nevada, both of which have ties to Tesla. The former is the location of the Megafactory, and Sparks is where both the Tesla Gigafactory and Semifactory are located.

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