20 hours ago
Faarea MasudBusiness reporter
Honda makes its first annual loss in 70 years
The firm will now pivot away from scrapping its target for all of its vehicles to be electric by 2040.
BBC News - Asia
75
3 мин чтения
0 просмотров
Getty Images
The firm will now pivot away from scrapping its target for all of its vehicles to be electric by 2040.
20 hours ago
Faarea MasudBusiness reporter
Getty Images
Japanese car giant Honda made its first annual loss in 70 years as its investments in the electric vehicle (EV) market failed to pay off.
Demand for EVs has not been as strong as the company forecast, with Honda reporting a total operating loss for the year ending March 2026 of ¥423bn ($2.68bn: £1.99bn.).
The firm said it was scrapping some of its EV production targets and would source parts from China, where prices are lower, to keep costs down.
It cited changes in US policy as adding to its losses, including tax incentives having been taken away for US consumers purchasing EVs, and the imposition of tariffs.
US consumers could previously receive up to $7,500 (£5,500) in tax credits if they purchased a new EV, but this was scrapped by President Donald Trump in September 2025.
His tariffs on imported cars and auto parts in 2025 also bruised profits at several major auto manufacturers, despite a reduction in the tariffs from 25% to 15%.
Honda, which was first listed on the stock market in 1957, has grown over the years to become Japan's second largest car firm. Analysts said its huge size and legacy nature make it difficult to adapt quickly to fast dips and rises in EV demand.
Honda said it was now going to focus on growing its successful motorcycle business, its financial services and its hybrid vehicle manufacturing.
It cited North America, Japan and India as "priority markets for its future growth" - although it suspended its plans to build EVs and batteries in Canada.
Chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said Honda would scrap its aims for EVs to make up a fifth of new car sales by 2030.
He added that Honda was also scrapping its target for all of its vehicles to be EV by 2040.
Honda expects ¥512bn in EV-related losses in the next financial year ending March 2027.
"It's a bleak milestone for Honda but not a surprising one," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
"Like many legacy automakers it gambled on motorists making a quick move to EVs - and lost as the world shifted."
She said that politics, the cost of living and competition from Chinese companies forced Honda to roll black EV plans and "swallow the costs".
Hewson added that even though demand for EVs has risen in the last few months because of rising petrol costs from the US-Israel war with Iran, "companies like Honda are having to adapt on the fly which is tough for businesses of this scale".
She said things could get tougher with more "twists and turns" on the horizon for the market.
There were plenty of choreographed ceremonies but no sweeping trade breakthrough as Trump met Xi in Beijing.
President Xi Jinping’s new formula for China-US relations is “aspirational”, but the “real test” will be ensuring the two powers can work together despite their deepening rivalry, a leading Chinese political observer has cautioned. During his much-anticipated summit with US President Donald Trump in
Most readers of foreign news pages this weekend will be assuming that US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has been dominating everyone’s attention. But across Asia, Trump, with his massive business entourage, was not the only act in town this week. At leas
Stephen Lin Er Chow, a physicist who designed a groundbreaking copper-free superconducting oxide capable of high-temperature superconductivity, has joined Zhejiang University from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Last year, at 27, Chow published the findings in the journal Nature, marking