General Motors and Honda Motor Co. announced plans to develop a line of affordable electric vehicles (EVs) with a focus on compact crossovers. The line will be available by 2027.

The collaboration, they say, will enable global production of "millions" of EVs, including compact crossovers. They will base the vehicles on new global electric architecture powered by GM's Ultium battery technology, the companies said in a joint statement.

GM and Honda will strive to standardize equipment and processes for better quality, higher throughput and more affordable EVs for consumers. They also will discuss collaborating on EV battery technology to reduce electrification costs and improve performance.

Honda aims to reach carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050, while GM has announced hopes to have an all-electric lineup by 2035.

"By working together, we’ll put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in the statement.

The co-developed EV lineup will center on the compact crossover segment, the automakers said, which they say accounts for 13 million sales annually.

The companies declined to provide a range of price points for the new line of EVs. However, Ken Morris, executive vice president of electric, autonomous and fuel cell programs for GM, said the vehicle prices will cost less and be smaller in size than the Chevrolet Equinox EV. Equinox EV, due for release in 2023, will start at around $30,000.

Honda will seek price parity with its internal-combustion vehicles, but bringing EV prices down to ICE levels will take time, noted Rick Schostek, executive vice president of corporate operations at American Honda.

The automakers will build the EVs at existing plants and are discussing how to divide production between Honda and GM.

The EV plan comprises part of the automakers' North American existing auto alliance, which built upon an earlier partnership where GM agreed to help develop two new EVs for Honda powered by GM's Ultium batteries.