Japan's Honda To Scale Back On EVs, Focus On Hybrids (reuters.com)
- Reference: 0177663799
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/20/2237202/japans-honda-to-scale-back-on-evs-focus-on-hybrids
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/japans-honda-scale-back-electric-vehicles-concentrate-hybrids-2025-05-20/
> Honda said on Tuesday that it was [1]scaling back its investment in electric vehicles given slowing demand and would be focusing on hybrids, now far more in favor, with a slew of revamped models. Japan's second-biggest automaker after Toyota also dropped a target for EV sales to account for 30% of its sales by the 2030 financial year. "It's really hard to read the market, but at the moment we see EVs accounting for about a fifth by then," CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference.
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> Honda has slashed its planned investment in electrification and software by that year by 30% to 7 trillion yen ($48.4 billion). It's one of a number of global car brands dialing back EV investment due to the shift in demand in favor of hybrids and as governments around the world ease timelines to meet emission rules and EV sales targets. Honda plans to launch 13 next-generation hybrid models globally in the four years from 2027. At the moment it sells more than a dozen hybrid models worldwide, though just three in the U.S. -- the Civic, which comes in hatchback and sedan versions, the Accord and the CR-V. It will also develop a hybrid system for large-size models that it plans to launch in the second half of the decade.
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> The automaker is aiming to sell 2.2 million to 2.3 million hybrid vehicles by 2030, a huge jump from 868,000 sold last year. That also compares with a total of 3.8 million vehicles sold overall last year. Earlier this month, Honda announced it had put on hold for about two years a $10.7 billion plan to build an EV production base in Ontario, Canada, due to slowing demand for electric cars. Honda said, however, that it still plans to have battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles make up all of its new car sales by 2040.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/japans-honda-scale-back-electric-vehicles-concentrate-hybrids-2025-05-20/
Seems like common sense. (Score:2)
I see ICE owners argue with EV owners. Fact is that most people drive no more than 50 miles a day. If they want to drive 2,000 miles in two days, they want the option. This seems like a good compromise. For 50 miles a day with an option, they can spend the extra money to haul around a generator to re-charge their batteries.
How the mightly have fallen... (Score:2)
Remember, this was the company that at one time had the Prelude, Del Sol Si, ITR, NSX, S2000 and JDM CTR all in their line-up, at the same time.
No large charger grid in Japan (Score:2)
The number of public chargers in Japan is fairly limited compared to the US.
So getting a large user base in Japan is not going to happen.
Re: (Score:2)
My understanding is that Honda is a largely American Manufacturer. They have many plants in America, have many American workers, and sell to American consumers. Right? Wrong?
I don't blame them (Score:2)
Without heavy government subsidies you can't make any money selling evs. Neither Tesla nor Ford have been able to pull that off.
Corruption means Tesla might keep getting the subsidies but the other car companies can't count on that the same way.
Elon musk threatened to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on primary elections against Republicans who crossed him. That means nobody is going to risk doing anything musk doesn't want them to do. If you drop 10 or 15 million dollars on a Republican Hous