en.Wedoany.com Reported - Japan's Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and China's Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) formally signed a strategic renewal agreement in July 2026 regarding the cooperation project of their joint venture, GAC Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. The two parties, while maintaining the existing equity ratio, have extended the joint venture cooperation period to 2038. The signing of the renewal agreement marks another leap forward in extending the cooperation cycle to the next twelve years, following the previous renewal to 2028 in 2023.
GAC Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., established in 1998 with a 50-50 investment from GAC Group and Honda Motor Co., Ltd., is one of the important joint ventures in China's automotive industry. Headquartered in Huangpu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, the company primarily manufactures popular models such as Accord, Fit, Odyssey, and Vezel, and has already deployed multiple hybrid and pure electric products. After more than two decades of development, GAC Honda has established a complete industrial chain system from R&D, procurement, and production to sales and service, holding significant influence in the passenger car market in South China and across the country.
The signing of this strategic renewal agreement comes at a critical period when China's automotive industry is accelerating its transformation towards electrification, intelligence, and connectivity. GAC Honda stated that it will take this renewal as an opportunity to upgrade its joint venture cooperation model from "technology introduction" to "joint R&D and equal co-creation." Both shareholders will deepen cooperation in areas such as product development, technological innovation, and supply chain coordination, accelerating the joint venture's transition towards electrification and intelligence.
GAC Group Chairman Zeng Qinghong stated that the renewal is a significant outcome of strategic mutual trust and consensus between the two parties, and that GAC Group will continue to leverage its local market advantages to work with Honda to ensure the stable and long-term development of the joint venture. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President Toshihiro Mibe stated that China is one of Honda's most important global markets, and Honda will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, empowering the joint venture with advanced technologies to meet the diverse mobility needs of Chinese consumers.
This renewal locks the cooperation period until 2038, providing stable shareholder cooperation expectations for GAC Honda's development plans over the next decade or more. Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market, whether the joint venture can leverage the technological and resource advantages of both shareholders to achieve its electrification transformation will be the core challenge for GAC Honda in the next phase of development.
