Honda will dial back its planned investment in electric vehicles (EVs) for the U.S. market, investing more heavily in hybrids in the short term.
Reuters reports, “CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference the automaker has lowered its planned investment in electrification and software through the 2030 business year to 7 trillion yen ($48.4 billion) from 10 trillion yen previously.”
Honda had planned to produce 30 EVs by 2030. The company recently showed off two future EV designs. Radical by Honda standards, the 0 Series sedan and SUV look like no other cars on the road today and feature advanced self-driving technology and AI-powered interactive voice assistants.
The company “still plans to have battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles make up all of its new car sales by 2040.”
CEO: EV Adoption Delayed 5 Years
Mibe told reporters that widespread EV adoption “will be pushed back by about five years, especially in North America.” The new Trump administration has pushed policy changes that could slow the rate at which Americans buy EVs, such as pausing funds for new chargers. A proposal in Congress now would end the $7,500 EV tax rebate program that helps Americans buy certain domestically produced EVs.
That has American drivers out of step with the outside world. The International Energy Agency now predicts that 25% of all new cars sold globally this year will be EVs. Just 6.8% of the vehicles Americans bought in March were electric.
Mibe notes, “The Trump administration will remain in power for four years, but that doesn’t mean that EV demand will bounce back immediately. I think it will be pushed back by about five to six years.”
New Hybrid Plans
Honda used the event to announce that a new hybrid powertrain is coming.
The company, Car and Driver reports, “said it will launch a next-generation hybrid powertrain in 2027 — including a specific system for large vehicles in the United States.”
While Honda has long offered hybrid options for smaller vehicles like its Civic sedan and CR-V SUV, larger models like the Ridgeline truck and Pilot 3-row SUV have remained gasoline-only.