By Yuri Kageyama
TOKYO (AP) – Honda said sales of electric vehicles were slowing in the US on Tuesday, prompting Japanese automakers to scrap their previous EV targets at 30% of global sales by 2030.
Instead of its initial plan to invest 10 trillion yen ($69 billion) in its electrification strategy throughout the fiscal year ending in 2031, Honda is reducing its investment from 3 trillion yen ($21 billion) to 7 trillion yen ($48 billion).
Honda Motor Co. CEO Toshihiro Mibe called the decision a “switching the planning course,” and was pushed back in time, remaining unchanged while highlighting the long-term shift to electrification.
Mibe did not mention President Donald Trump. But Trump’s policy on tariffs and lack of enthusiasm for electric vehicles have avoided rushing to adapt to Japanese automakers.
“The environment surrounding the automotive industry is changing day by day. In particular, several factors, including changes in environmental regulations, have led to an increasing uncertainty in the business environment due to the growing EV market,” Honda said in a statement.
Mibe did not offer a specific timeline for new courses for electrification. But Honda, which models the Civic and Accord cars, will instead be more aggressive in producing hybrids, he said.
For example, Honda’s automotive factory in Marysville, Ohio will be adapted to produce both EVs and hybrids under new plans.
Mibe pointed out Honda’s motorcycle business as a core strength as sales continue to rise in India and Honda’s global market share is steadily rising.
Mibe also said the Tokyo-based automaker is working on the use of a variety of digital technologies and is increasing safety, including assistive driving, which reduces road accident deaths to zero, a long-standing Honda target.
A lecture that began late last year to connect the businesses of Honda and Japanese rival Nissan Motor Corporation, and a small-scale automobile manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors, which collapsed earlier this year, collapsed. Mibe said reporters were still ongoing to get the three automakers to help develop the development. He remained ambiguous and did not say that he could reach the deal when.
Nissan is sinking into losses, reducing its labor and closed plants. Its new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, has promised a shift by speeding up decisions.
Honda’s profits from March to March fell 24.5% from the previous year. However, many of the negative effects are due to external factors such as Chinese tariffs and slide sales.
Aaron Ho, equity analyst at CFRA Research, said:
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Original issue: May 20, 2025, 12:22pm EDT
