Honda, GS Yuasa eye new battery plant in Japan, to invest $3 bil.

Honda Motor Co. and battery maker GS Yuasa Corp. are considering jointly building a new factory in Japan to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, with potential investment of about 400 billion yen ($3 billion), according to sources familiar with the matter. The envisaged plant would be eligible for government aid aimed at promoting battery production in Japan in the face of rising global competition over all-electric vehicles, the sources said Thursday. The two companies announced in January that they will establish a joint venture for EV batteries. The announcement followed the...