Honda's Japanese employees begin to call for CEO's resignation after big bet on EVs for US market falls flat (in Japanese)
Posted by FMecha@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 277 comments
Glittery_Kittens@reddit
I feel like Honda's antics in Formula 1 is a nice microcosm of their wider leadership failures. If you are not familiar, they decided to bail out as a cost-cutting measure just as they were building a dominant, championship winning engine. Once they were reminded of the benefits of this sort of halo project for marketing prestige they decided to rush back in, but the damage to their engine program was already done and now they are miles behind and a total laughing stock.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
More on that, their MotoGP program also currently sucks, they went over three different cars in six years in Super GT's GT500, and they almost bailed out of IndyCar but didn't to avoid killing the series entirely.
Gregarious_Raconteur@reddit
Wild how much that's changed, the last time I was actively following motogp, marquez was basically lapping the competition on a honda.
pursuer_of_simurg@reddit
It would be funny if Afeela becomes Honda's Playstation moment.
For those who do not know after Sony and Nintendo's cd console deal falls off, Sony launches their own console (Playstation) and dominates the market for next 2 generations.
Recoil42@reddit
Would be funny, but I think Sony's content to be a supplier on this one.
maygamer96@reddit
Not if Sony borrows inspiration from Xiaomi. And lures top talent from Honda for it. TBH it's hard it could happen considering how rigid Japanese companies and their employees' loyalty can be, but you never know.....Sony already solves moonshot problems like making semiconductors, you never know if they try their hand at this.
Recoil42@reddit
Xiaomi's primary camera supplier is... Sony.
matti-san@reddit
I also just don't think the car was going to be very good compared to its asking price. Like it was very expensive and had a couple of niche features, but most of its capability was equalled by cheaper Chinese EVs. I really don't think Afeela would have done very well - especially outside of the USA.
FourEyesAndThighs@reddit
Still dominates. PS5 destroys the Switch 2, which feels like a child’s toy.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
Auto manufacturing is nightmarishly expensive so I don't see that happening.
GVIrish@reddit
That would be a terrific scenario for Honda because Nintendo is still going strong and are very profitable. I don't think that's gonna be the outcome here for Sony or Honda.
CuddleTeamCatboy@reddit
There’s some precedent here, Xiaomi is doing quite well for themselves in the car business.
daphatty@reddit
Someone remind the Japanese that the mid terms are around the corner and the presidential election is right behind that.
profmathers@reddit
I thought they looked good, any word on the reasoning behind killing them? Afraid of BYD?
sirotoris@reddit
Honda fumbled the Indian market too. A RHD market with a free-trade agreement with Japan and inherent love for Japanese technology, especially since Honda's entry into the market in the late 90s. They had a varied portfolio for a long time but just couldn't understand the pulse of the market and slowly pared down their offerings.
Now they are stuck with just 3 models that hardly anyone cares to buy - the Amaze, a sub 4m sedan in a market where SUVs and hatchbacks are king, the City mid-sized sedan with literally just 2 other competitors in the segment, and Elevate the mid-sized SUV made predominantly for the export market.
Neither do they offer anything for the enthusiasts nor for the luxury buyer. They don't even have a single proper hybrid - in a country where petrol prices are consistently through the roof and b2b traffic in cities would mean stellar fuel economy. They didn't even properly advertise for a while that their cars have been e20 fuel compliant since 2013 or something!
The Elevate that was surprisingly well-received in Japan is a dud here in India as they dont offer basic features that the Indian buyer wants, like TPMS and cabin noise insulation. Imagine this level of cost-cutting in a segment that is brutally competitive.
Suzuki and Toyota are killing it, so are Hyundai and even home-grown heroes Tata. I think Honda's days in the country are numbered.
F1No47@reddit
Even Skoda sold more than Honda this March. Unbelievable.
NattyB0h@reddit
I've been disconnected from the India market for a while. What can they do to come back? What's working thses days?
sirotoris@reddit
They need to ditch EVs and go all-in on their hybrid offerings for this market. Also release facelifts and add some important creature comfort features to their City/Elevate pairing (which is expected later this year or early 27)
They also need to bring in some CBU halo cars, like the Civic Type-R to rebuild brand reputation. VW India brought a limited number of Golf Rs and Skoda brought some vRS and they sold out instantly.
They claim to be bringing the new Prelude but that's not good enough. They also definitely need bigger SUVs in the 25L-30L INR space and the also the ~50L INR space where Toyota dominates with a one (or two?) generation old Fortuner built on the Hilux platform.
Although, they are maybe simply content with their current market positioning in the country and happy with the progress they have made for the export market.
Sinakers@reddit
They do have a hybrid, the City e:HEV. I agree with all your other points though.
sirotoris@reddit
Yes the City hybrid is available for sale but it's something like ~5L INR more expensive than the regular model so can hardly include it as a regular production model.
holchansg@reddit
All about price. BYD are heavily subsidizing prices, Tesla M3 are what? 36k? If you can make a M3 competitor, somewhat same specs for \~35k why would someone buy it instead of an M3 which is already the king of the market? Thats why BYD is subsidizing where it can(in UK it cant for example, and the Seal is expensive as fuck, people buy Teslas).
mrpoonjikkara@reddit
In Dubai far better Chinese cars are available for the price of Accord and CRV. Most people buy Jetour T2 and T1 plug in hybrid Chinese SUV which is basically a defender copy for the same price.
holchansg@reddit
Define far better. Honda tests every component for thousands of usage and repetitions, while i was working for Stellantis the same components where validated an average of half the lifetime/abuse the ones Toyota and Honda.
CN ones don't more aligned with PSA standards as told by my fellow peers. Not to mention their awful sw cycle. So no, they are not a Defender. And you can see on the CN PP100 stats this very truth.
Yet they are heavily subsidized, they offer for EV people an compelling package so they sell a lot. Here in BR they are outselling everything.
sicklyslick@reddit
Better? As in better deal.
If I drive 50k a day in a sedan, that's $20k+ in gas over ten years.
Even of a Toyota or Honda last double the lifetime of a Chinese EV, I am still saving.
holchansg@reddit
So by thisa diesel car is better? An EV from H/T is a better car? By the same metrics you used.
sicklyslick@reddit
Solely on that metric? Sure? But factoring in environmental costs of diesel and it's currently more expensive than gas, in ten years, it's obviously it'll be subpar to a cheap EV.
mrpoonjikkara@reddit
Chinese companies give 10 year / 1 million KM warranty and even give you a courtesy car, which Honda and Toyota don't do.
holchansg@reddit
They will last 10y, is within range. Fiat and Toyota offer the same warranty here for example.
Jubguy3@reddit
This was so embarrassing for Honda. 5 EVs across three brands cancelled, some just months away from production. I would have been surprised to hear 5 years ago that Toyota and Subaru were the ones to deliver on their EV plans, while Honda flounders with no clear business strategy.
Recoil42@reddit
Capital conservation is a legitimate business strategy.
Pixelplanet5@reddit
generally yes but in a market thats moving in one clear direction you need to keep going into that direction.
That may not be the US market itself but Honda is gonna need EVs for the rest of the world while the US stays in the stone age.
Recoil42@reddit
Honda isn't cancelling global EVs. Just the US ones.
Puppysmasher@reddit
Honda’s main market is the US.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
They’re also strong in South East Asia despite not same America level.
CuddleTeamCatboy@reddit
They’re losing market share to Chinese EVs pretty quickly in SEA.
Recoil42@reddit
They're not cancelling EVs in SEA. What was cancelled was the EV initiative in the USA. Southeast Asia is not part of the USA.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
Ironically, their SEA-spec EVs are derived from their Chinese lineup, too.
Jubguy3@reddit
No, they’re disagreeing with you and saying that Honda is weak in SEA right now. They are facing intense pressure from China and specifically cited in the statement that their products had become uncompetitive in SEA due to the R&D funds being allocated to EV development instead. That was part of the massive $16bn restructuring cost.
ET__@reddit
So when the U.S. recovers, it can re-enter. What’s the issue here? Your problem should be with this US administration.
narcistic_asshole@reddit
That's the challenging part of the transition to EVs for Honda. Of the 3 major markets (North America, China, and Europe) they only have a strong footing in the US. North America is the only major market where Honda EVs would have a business case for, so the sudden 180 in electrification in the US fucked them hard. Even in their home country Japan's EV infrastructure is at least a decade behind every other developed country in EV infrastructure, so they had all their eggs in the US basket
Recoil42@reddit
Brother, you literally just mentioned China.
narcistic_asshole@reddit
Because the Chinese market is not viable for non-Chinese brands. 5-10 years ago they were the hottest Markey everyone was trying to break into. Now most foreign brands are abandoning the Chinese market because it's almost impossible to compete with the domestic competition there.
Recoil42@reddit
Toyota's building a factory in Shanghai literally at this very moment. What you're saying straight-up isn't true. Now, international brands certainly are having a tough time competing, and a couple brands (ie, Stellantis) have given up, but the notion that there's some sort of en-masse "most foreign brands are abandoning" situation isn't accurate. The top-selling brand in China right now is Volkswagen.
narcistic_asshole@reddit
Volkswagen and Toyota are massive in comparison to Honda and VW was the best selling car brand in China for decades. Non-Chinese brands made up for Than 60% of the Chinese car market 5 years ago and now it's around 30%.
As someone who works for a major automotive supplier I can say the interest in the Chinese market from the legacy brands as cooled off hard. A few years everyone wanted a piece of the Chinese market because it was the fastest growing market, everyone wanted in on it. Now it's not worth it for most companies
Recoil42@reddit
Y...yes? We agree on that. Not sure what you think the dunk here is supposed to be. You were claiming there's a mass exodus of international brands in China and that's it's impossible for them to be competitive there due to Chinese consumer preferences, which once again is not true.
narcistic_asshole@reddit
And they sold 1.6 million per year in China in 2020, their sales volume in China has been rapidly dwindling. Volkswagen as well. Yes they led in sales, but they only sold 2.6 million vehicles last year while selling over 4 million 5 years ago.
During that same window Chinese domestic car manufacturers went from having a 30% market share to having over 70% of the market last year. That is an insane shift over a 5 year span.
Recoil42@reddit
We don't disagree that there's a shift in the market. That's very different from abandonment.
You keep saying words and then playing around with them to pretend they mean things they don't mean.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
You need sophisticated EV offerings to compete in china and Honda is currently non-existent in that front. What makes you think they can make a turnaround and fight for market share in china without revenue from elsewhere to invest in it?
Recoil42@reddit
Once again utterly flabbergasting I have to keep explaining this: Honda is not pulling back from North America. It's responding to market shifts in North America. That literally means more revenue, not less.
Torczyner@reddit
They had the last 12 years to bring an EV to the US market with heavy incentives. Even without those incentives the model Y is the best selling car in the world. I find it hard to believe Honda couldn't bring a small EV SUV to market and do well, possibly better than Tesla. Even now with fuel prices all over the place, EV is still the way for a lot of drivers.
narcistic_asshole@reddit
The problem with Honda and EVs is that for the longest time the only segments where EVs were viable were luxury cars and larger vehicles, two segments that Honda doesn't do particularly well in. Their bread and butter is economy cars, and it's taking longer for EVs to trickle down into the economy car segments.
They went hybrid for those segments, and they make really good hybrids, and at the moment hybrid economy cars have more appeal than EV economy cars
Teams11b@reddit
Honda made a Fit EV over a decade ago and didn’t properly release it.
snoo-boop@reddit
That was a "compliance car" -- look at the range.
Elite_Club@reddit
The Ford Focus EV had its highest sales numbers in 2014, with a grand total of 1,922 sold that year.
So Honda probably had a good reason to come to the conclusion that economy Evs didn’t sell.
aprtur@reddit
They didn't have a viable business case for it at that time. Nobody was going to pay the $37,000 MSRP for one, hence why they were all leases. We had two at the dealer I worked for in Maryland at the time, and while they were neat, that was a full $20,000 more than a base Fit, and on par with an Accord.
aprtur@reddit
They didn't have a viable business case for it at that time. Nobody was going to pay the $47000 MSRP for one, hence why they were all leases.
Torczyner@reddit
I definitely agree. I think Honda along with many others dragged their feet and now are way behind. When there were heavy incentives, developing an electric platform for midsize SUV made sense. Did anyone think those would be around forever? That's how Tesla launched the model 3 and Y as the S and X were too expensive to qualify and people buying them earned too much. I bought several model S because I didn't qualify on the 3 or Y anyways for example.
Recoil42@reddit
See above. The market in the US is now uncertain.
Puppysmasher@reddit
That’s incredibly short sighted when every other major manufacture has developed in house EVs and experience that they could bring back except Honda. Honda being solely reliant on the whims of the US market (and this current administration) leaves them very exposed. EVs are not going away and they are losing market share especially when their current customer leases return and there is no Honda product to choose from.
Recoil42@reddit
Honda still has and still is developing in-house EVs.
Puppysmasher@reddit
What Honda EV is in house?
Recoil42@reddit
Honda's Ye series (China) is in-house, the N-One e: / Super One are in-house, and the in-house Alpha 0 (0 α) remains in testing in India and is due for release in 2027. What you're saying isn't true.
It's also not true that "every other major manufacturer" has developed in-house EVs. Subaru doesn't have one at all. Mazda had one, doesn't have it anymore, and currently relies on Changan rebadges for the global market.
Puppysmasher@reddit
Here is a joke, what are the three largest car manufacturers in Japan? Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda (because Toyota is just that much bigger).
Recoil42@reddit
Congrats, you're discovering that Japanese manufacturers have disproportionate exposure to the US market where EVs are struggling.
Are the puzzle pieces starting to click yet?
Puppysmasher@reddit
Agree to disagree, you don’t abandon your largest market to reduce exposure.
Recoil42@reddit
Honda hasn't abandoned the US market. The US market is shifting away from EVs (as a result of EPA CAFE, CARB ACC2, and BBB annulment) and they're responding. It's literally the exact opposite of abandonment.
I'm utterly flabbergasted that I need to keep explaining this.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
Honda barely exists in europe
Recoil42@reddit
Honda sold 600k cars in China last year, it has an entire Ye series of EVs there.
It is pulling back on NA EV exposure just like everyone pulling back from NA EV exposure because that's the trend in NA.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
This was half of what it was in 2023
Recoil42@reddit
It doesn't matter what it is half of. Even if it was a quarter of 2023, that still would not be "basically gone". Six hundred thousand is six hundred thousand. China is literally Honda's second largest automotive market.
RiftHunter4@reddit
The US being in the stone age is temporary btw. Due to the economy the car market currently doesn't have enough customers to sustain the number of brands. If things continue as they are, the US auto industry will be replaced by cheap Chinese brands. It is inevitable unless the economy improves. EV's are going to take over at some point.
Torczyner@reddit
We controlled cheap Japanese vehicles with the Chicken Tax, why wouldn't we control cheap Chinese cars as well? US auto should have died long ago to better and cheaper cars, but we protected it then.
RiftHunter4@reddit
And it didn't really work. Toyota and Honda just started building cars in the US to get around the laws and restrictions. The Chinese brands will do the same Eventually except they'll be making enough cash back home to play dirty if it means putting dodge out of business.
Elite_Club@reddit
I think the law’s purpose was fulfilled, not bypassed.
Torczyner@reddit
People not getting this is amazing. I'd be a much bigger fan of BYD if they were bringing jobs to the US along with their tech.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
In case of Chinese automakers, I don't believe they would be allowed to have American (or NAFTA region) factories in name of "national security".
someonesmobileacct@reddit
Dodge does a good enough job putting themselves out of business they dont need any help.
TurboFucked@reddit
The US government did control cheap Japanese vehicles: Honda still makes the Civic; Toyota still makes the Corolla; Nissan still makes the Sentra. In fact, all the US government did was ensure that American car companies abandon the cheap vehicle segment.
Taxes on Chinese-made EVs will do the same thing. It will give American car companies an excuse not to compete. Then, on a long enough timeline, another American car company will go bankrupt and get bought up by foreign competition.
takoriiin@reddit
I believe that was targeted towards Europe because of something related to them not accepting poultry imports. Also the same reason why Renaults, Peugeots, and Citroens ain’t a thing in the US .
someonesmobileacct@reddit
The Chicken Tax was targeted towards light trucks...
And more geared towards Europe since Japan wasn't close to competitive at the time. Heck Honda themselves didnt offered an automatic till a good 4 years after the chicken tax was enacted and it was on a Kei car... Nobody was worried about Japan till the 70s.
Torczyner@reddit
Yes it was on light trucks sheltering US auto. Furthermore the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance act of 88 was enacted to protect big auto in a different capacity. People are rarely understanding of history and how we protected the auto industry. On one hand it keeps a US industry that employs millions intact, but on the other end consumers may not like being limited in their selections.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
Isn't this the status quo?
2Drogdar2Furious@reddit
They still have some time... until another battery breakthrough (solid state batteries?) EVs wont become mainstream. As soon as EVs can charge as fast as ICE vehicles can refuel all bets are off.
Hopefully the time and effort in developing these vehicles they cancelled can be utilized in the near future...
Pixelplanet5@reddit
EVs are already becoming mainstream, its the only growing market segment right now.
Solid state batteries will push that even further but theres already no stopping it with the current technology as its good enough for every normal situation.
zeekayz@reddit
Cancelling all combustion engine development to focus on steam engines only vibe.
peakdecline@reddit
Honda is a US market car company, more or less.
PurpleSausage77@reddit
Yep 500% it is. And Honda must’ve been spooked to make such a rash move. Seems to have been a move of self-preservation. They’ve always been more conservative, as in, playing it safe. EVs as of lately have seemed to be an impulsive scramble by many.
Recoil42@reddit
Everyone's been spooked. See Ford's $19B write-down and the cancellation of the Lightning / e-Transit.
someonesmobileacct@reddit
Still short sighted, since the world market still cares about the factors those measures were trying to improve...
And its just one regime change away from whiplash again...
Recoil42@reddit
This article isn't about the world market. It's about the US market.
Honda still has EVs on the world market and a world-market EV roadmap.
Defenestrationgame@reddit
It used to be
testthrowawayzz@reddit
It’s very similar to their hybrid strategy up until this decade. Available in one year but discontinued the next. Switching off between an option of an existing model vs creating a dedicated hybrid model.
They still don’t have a hybrid system for their larger cars, though they announced late last year that it’s coming.
huffalump1@reddit
Yeah that's weird actually, especially since Honda was actually an early pioneer in hybrids with the Insight, just 2 years after the Prius...
Gotta hand it to Toyota for making every model available in a hybrid. And while they were criticized for slow EV adoption, that strategy is proving to have been fairly sensible... But who can predict what's going on in the world?
MetaTrombonist@reddit
It's weird to me that people still call Toyota's EV hesitation a success. In the time it took them to come out with one EV, Tesla went from basically nothing to one of the largest car companies in the world. Yes, Tesla's stock value is largely it's meme value, but they still sell a shit ton of cars to people who would probably have preferred to buy a Toyota EV instead.
TurboFucked@reddit
Especially since it was the marketing department spinning their engineering failures as prescience.
You can find Toyota's roadmaps from 2015, they planned to have something like 13 EV models for sale in the USA by 2025. The problem is their Subaru co-developed platform was a complete, unsalvagable piece of garbage and they scrapped all future models on the platform.
Toyota got lucky that EV adoption did a 180.
guilmon999@reddit
Toyota's 2025 net income: $45.06 billion
Tesla's 2025 net income: $3.79 billion
In all meaningful metrics Toyota is doing significantly better than Tesla.
If we want to break it down even further Toyota makes significantly more money per car than Tesla.
https://companiesmarketcap.com/automakers/automakers-ranked-by-operating-margin/
Toyota operating margins: 13.35%
Tesla operating margins: 5.92%
MetaTrombonist@reddit
Just because Toyota is doing well in ICE doesn't mean they didn't bungle the EV market. Opportunity cost is a real thing. Tesla has sold about 10 million vehicles, each one a lost potential Toyota sale. The fact that Tesla is a very poorly run company with cars that aren't even that good makes Toyota's failure to dethrone them in EV's even worse.
guilmon999@reddit
Tesla has sold 8.7 million cars world wide (2018 to 2025)
In that same time frame Toyota sold 85 million cars world wide.
By all real metrics Toyota is doing WAY better. You could speculate all you want, but the numbers don't lie. Toyota is literally the number one car manufacturer in the world right now. Toyota guessed the market correctly and determined that people wanted hybrids over EVs.
Erigion@reddit
The first gen Insight felt like some hurried engineering exercise just so Honda could beat out Toyota to claim to be the first hybrid on sale. The 1st gen Prius, for its many quirks and faults, was an actual car. The Insight was not.
2nd gen Insight vs 3rd gen Prius was closer but if you read Motor Trend's comparison between the two, it's no contest.
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2010-honda-insight-vs-2010-toyota-prius-comparison-test
Their conclusion feels insane to read now. The Prius is clearly the better car in every way but because the Insight is around 3k less, it wins the comparison.
Gorgenapper@reddit
They had every opportunity to hybridize their entire lineup but flip flopped around and let Toyota take the lead. When I look at Honda's lineup, the variety and number of models are pitifully lacking compared to Toyota's.
Honda's leadership has always been on-off, not able to stay the course and persevere. Anyone who has seen the very first 2012 Civic (after it had been slashed to the bone following the 2008 Financial crisis) would understand. It was such an abrupt change from the last model, almost literally a binary flip from 1 to 0.
testthrowawayzz@reddit
The flip-flopping around 2010-2015 was the biggest reason why I didn't get a Honda at that time when I was in the market for a new car.
Not to mention at that time their hybrid system was crap (best described as a mild hybrid in today's terms) compared to the Toyota hybrid system.
Rillist@reddit
And they got raked over the coals for it too, just like they're getting raked through now too.
donnysaysvacuum@reddit
Its weird seeing Honda has been doing their best impression of GM. Meanwhile GM actually seems to be staying the course on EVs.
Intrepid_Cosmonaut@reddit
Outside of the US Honda has been floundering for 15 years, they never recovered from the GFC.
TempleSquare@reddit
Still see a hell of a lot of civics in the US, though. And CRVs are everywhere.
At minimum they should go all in on hybridization. Everything a hybrid. Even if they have to beg borrow and steal batteries from Toyota for a while until they can build their own battery plant.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
They can't. The way their current hybrid system works only scales up to crv size.
MumpsyDaisy@reddit
They are developing a V6 hybrid for their larger vehicles, so it'll probably be introduced with the next generation of the Pilot and its relatives.
chunkymonk3y@reddit
OP literally said “outside the US” my guy
eneka@reddit
That’s essentially what they’re doing. Cutting EVs and using their new battery plant that should be coming online this year for the hybrids and phevs
Realtrain@reddit
They're fascinating. Here in the US they're one of the major brands, up there with Toyota for a lot of people.
dissss0@reddit
Not even in the top 10 in Australia these days
2025 Top 10 brands in Australia:
Yes they're lacking a pickup truck which accounts for a large percentage of Toyota and Ford sales, but so are some of the other brands on that list.
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
Wait Isuzu literally makes one vehicle and makes top 10?
dissss0@reddit
Depends on whether you consider the MU-X and D-Max as separate models.
Anyway the Ford pretty much only sells the Ranger and Everest these days and that's enough to put them second in the list.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
It's actually only Hyundai now:
Toyota - duh
Ford - it's the only thing they know how to sell
Mazda - BT-50
Kia - Tasman
Hyundai - none
Mitsubishi - Triton
GWM - Cannon, Cannon Alpha
BYD - Shark 6
Isuzu Ute - it's in the name
MG - MGU9
Mazda, MG and Kia aren't heavily reliant on them and the first two of those are rebadging something else to fill the niche, but at least having one is just about a prerequisite to sell cars in Australia these days. Honda not having one isn't their biggest problem, but it's probably a genuine issue.
dissss0@reddit
Good point.
It's worth noting that Toyota sold more than 50,000 RAV4 and Mazda around 23,000 CX-5 which are very much in the segments where Honda should be strong.
DoobieGibson@reddit
no offense, but Australia is barely a blip
239,863 toyotas sold in Australia while there was nearly 500,000 rav 4’s sold in the US alone
Car-face@reddit
They're not just lacking a ute here, they're lacking most of the segments they dominated 20 years ago.
IMO that's mostly down to Honda Australia's decision about 15 years ago to move away from being a premium Japanese offering (with vehicles like the Accord Euro, Accord and Legend, as well as the relatively premium Odyssey) and instead try and chase volume through their Thai factory with the (un-updated) Jazz, less refined RC Odyssey and killing off the Legend and never replacing the Accord Euro.
When the Bhat appreciated against the AUD and the Jazz no longer being produced outside Japan, that left them with a reputation for value (but no longer quality) but a supply of vehicles more closely aligned to where they were in the early 2000s than today in terms of cost.
Honda were very close to pulling out of Australia altogether a few years ago, and shifted to a "hub and spoke" distribution arrangement (along with lawsuits from dealers) that saw them massively downsize their presence here - even if they wanted to sell more product, I doubt they still have the distribution to manage it.
For a time they literally only had about 3 models in their lineup, the CR-V, the HRV and the Civic.
Even today, they have just 3 SUVs that sit quite close to each other (HR-V, ZR-V (the US-spec HR-V) and CR-V, along with the Civic. Technically they also still sell the Accord, but it's on its last legs and sells tens per month.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
They’re also small in Europe too.
AdmiralZassman@reddit
They are basically the number 2 brand in Canada, behind Toyota
The_Owl_Man_1999@reddit
Seeing something like a Honda Accord that isn't an old Accord Euro is basically an event in Australia, I've seen exactly 5 of the 10th gen and 1 new one. 9th gen is pretty uncommon too and was where Accord sales first collapsed. The only new Hondas I see semi regularly are the HRV and civic type r.
Aranka_Szeretlek@reddit
Honda is just expensive here in Europe. The only non-electric one I could buy right now is a Civic, starting right under 60k. We have a lot of options priced below that: VW, Skoda, Renault, Peugeot, Kia, whatever. Even Toyota. Honda is small and expensive.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
Honda in Indonesia (my home country), traditionally a perennial number two (or three, accounting for Daihatsu - most Daihatsu models in Indonesia have Toyota twin versions) currently depends on the Brio, a subcompact. Of course, the BYD Atto 1 - an EV that has the same size as it - is eating into its lunch, resulting in a 35% decline in sales from 2024 to 2025 (news in Indonesian).
Pindadio@reddit
Gfc?
RX8Racer556@reddit
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis
Pindadio@reddit
Thanks!
Recoil42@reddit
Girl Friend Cuckolding
Inflame@reddit
I'm assuming Global Financial Crisis
pinezatos@reddit
i used to see hondas everyday in my country, then they became very expensive and toyota was there to pick up the slack, toyota ain't cheap either but nowhere near honda. Also the new civic looks like a generic eurofied car and nobody wants this, at least in europe that is.
Intrepid_Cosmonaut@reddit
Essentially the same situation in Australia. They used to be a huge deal, now they sell less cars a month than Suzuki or Volvo.
BlueKnight44@reddit
Everyone was asking on reddit a tear ago "why would Honda want to partner with Nissan?"
EV's. EV's are why.
FourEyesAndThighs@reddit
And the one single EV they brought to market is a shitty rebadged GM EV.
kobbled@reddit
I mean, who predicted the US fumbling the entire EV industry 5 years ago?
Lighthouse_seek@reddit
That was the year Elon started going crazy no?
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
I bet most Americans did
kobbled@reddit
not according to every company's plans 5 years ago
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
Company plans don't mean a thing if Americans aren't interested in what those plans are trying to sell them.
5 years ago, I'd bet your average American knew EVs likely wouldn't pan out.
OllieFromCairo@reddit
As someone who was shopping for a car five years ago--yes, exactly. The infrastructure for EVs is geographically limited and universal access to fast chargers is not imminent.
When I go camping with my kids' scout troop, the guy who brings the EV is unavailable to leave camp for emergencies because he needs all the range to get to camp and back home, and leaving camp to top up his battery is a 50-70-mile round-trip depending where we are camping. Meanwhile, you're never more than 5 miles form a gas station.
huffalump1@reddit
I was gonna comment about how that situation can be no big deal because you can just top off at a DC fast charger before getting there...
It still has a lot of caveats.
Yes, EVs are much more practical. Bigger batteries, faster charging, and wayyyy more charger availability vs just a few years ago are GREAT steps. But there are still some use cases where they might not work!
Like, the camping example: works great if there's a charging station somewhat near your destination. That's probably true for MUCH of where the population lives. But there are plenty of places where it just will NOT work!
Maybe the move is a campsite with an RV hookup lol, but many of those ban EV charging for some reason (which is weird, because why not just charge a bigger fee for it?)
OllieFromCairo@reddit
RV campgrounds and scouts aren’t a great match, alas.
Fozzymandius@reddit
The ones that ban it generally have an issue with total capacity at the site, but I agree. I have charged my EV at an RV spot but I also specifically lowered my amperage to not make life difficult for the folks there.
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
And a lot of the US gets really cold as well.
I have a buddy with a Tesla here in Michigan and in the winter he said he loses a lot of range.
Fozzymandius@reddit
Ya it's extremely dependent on personal factors. I live on the desert side of Washington state, we have mild winters compared to you but sometimes hit around 0. You literally can't beat an EV as a commuter here. I schedule it to warm up inside my garage daily and our delta between gas and electric is so big that 9000 miles of driving costs <$250.
Recoil42@reddit
Toyota, for one.
ballatician68@reddit
yep
F1T_13@reddit
That sounds like the Honda we've come to know and love in recent years unfortunately.
mustangfan12@reddit
Yeah like they could've tried releasing some of their models outside of the US if they didn't believe the US had great EV demand but they just straight up gave up instead despite their models being months away from production
Colbert1208@reddit
He’s gonna resign anyway I think. Someone’s gotta take the fall
Bar50cal@reddit
In Ireland we drive on the right side like Japan and have a free trade deal with Japan so Japanese cars dominate the market here as they are usually cheaper than other brands since they don't need to stop production and do short runs of right hand drive models that adds cost.
To put in perspective how fucked Honda is. In Ireland Honda is now getting out sold significantly by Porsche! In 2025 and so far in 2026 Porsche sold more new cars in Ireland than Honda. Honda only sold 612 cars in all of 2025 here and Honda was once top 3 auto makers here.
Waste-Estimate-6061@reddit
Do you mean left?
IguassuIronman@reddit
Drive on the right side of the car, presumably
Bderken@reddit
How did it fall flat? Did they even sink enough money into it? I thought they just had the rebadged Chevy and now the rebadged Highlander?
Life_Menu_4094@reddit
They showed off the "prototype" 0 Series at Goodwood, which is Honda-speak for basically the production version. The RSX was seen barely camouflaged at charging stations. These things were months away from launch.
Didactic_Tomato@reddit
Oooooof they cancelled the RSX?
KiddBwe@reddit
Thank god
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
They cancelled literally every EV outside of (maybe) the GM built products they have in North America, which is 3 + the Afeela getting killed by the collateral
JNC123QTR@reddit
A smaller, cheaper version of the Zero SUV called the Zero Alpha is still in development for India. In addition, the Kei-car based N-One EV and its non-Kei hot hatch variant, the Super N-One, are still in development as of now. Apparently the GM built cars are also exiting production.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
The 0 Alpha and ONE variants have 5% and 0% chance of being sold in North America though
clydetorrez@reddit
The GM products are done too, but that was at least planned. The Acura ZDX died the week after the tax incentives went away, and Prologue production ends after the current model year.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
There's conflicting reports on that I believe, Honda has denied them which is why I said maybe
gregortheii@reddit
The Prologue and ZDX have been cancelled too. ZDX was axed last fall while the Prologue was announced three weeks ago.
In some good news, they apparently lowered the Prologue price by $7,500. But you’re still buying GM assembled electricals.
ArmoredGoat@reddit
They are heading down the Jaguar path. In a couple of years, their showroom will have a vacuum of new models and only models nearly 5-6 years old.
MumpsyDaisy@reddit
Maybe Acura but apparently they've let some car mags drive 12th gen Civic prototypes, and there's been some teasers in Japanese media of next gen Civics, Accords, and HR-Vs. I'd be really shocked if they weren't continuing their regular update cycles for their bread and butter cars.
aoaeicekac@reddit
I’m confused. They’re reliable why would they end up like jag. Won’t people still want a Honda for at least its reliability?
strongmanass@reddit
They're going to reposition Acura as an S-class competitor?
harperrb@reddit
Nearly 16 billion US Dollars.
They reconfigured several N American factories with huge production like changes and machinery..all a loss.
byerss@reddit
Why wouldn’t you at least make the vehicles then? You already burned all the cash getting ready.
harperrb@reddit
Zero demand. Throwing money into a money hole.
Nemaeus@reddit
Yeah, those oil prices rising make EVs more attractive but how much so?
I do think it’s a misstep from Honda though. An electric CRV would print money. An electric Pilot? Dominating the large SUV segment. Hyundai/Kia/Genesis can’t get the ICCU thing right after half a decade. They’re trucking along because they’re one of few options.
MumpsyDaisy@reddit
Well the problem is they didn't develop electric CRVs and Pilots...they developed entirely new vehicles with the "0 series".
magbarn@reddit
They also killed the TLX to make room for the EVs. The TLX sold over 3X as many cars as their recent "hit" the Prelude.
Bderken@reddit
That’s actually insane wow
ImHealingU@reddit
The Lexus RBZ does not exist and you created that. The Lexus RZ does exist. Subaru is rebadging Toyota evs not Honda.
Recoil42@reddit
Hondabaru
LocalLuck2083@reddit
They just canceled their upcoming ev models they had planned for the US. There’s a few news articles on it. That’s a whole bunch of money and time thrown away to never release them
Inkdaddy55@reddit
Honda has been in a really weird place for a while. They've launched a bunch of stuff that really makes no sense...why we don't have an Si with more power is beyond me! The only 2 door on the roster is a joke...and that's coming from a diehard. How can you take away coupe accords AND civics...and leave us with a HYBRID LUDE!!!! NO STICK!!???!?!?!? They gave up everything that makes honda a Honda to chase thw EV market with zero direction.... please...just bring back a good 2 door, hybrid or full electric element would be a smash, bring the type-r back to a more raw experience, and please for the love of God give us back tunable entry options!!! Throw out the cvts and underpowered garbage, abandon the ev market till the tech is there, and give us back our Honda!!!!
AdventurousPepper371@reddit
They might have to bring those EVs back into development if oil prices don't come down... oil will hit $150 a barrel by end of the month if the war doesn't end.
Anchor_Aways@reddit
Honda has improved its EV offerings, but they're in the second most embarrassing state right now with Mazda... who are comically behind on both fronts.
SavageryRox@reddit
I thought I would absolutely buy Mazda for my next daily, since my CX5 treats me so well.
I don't recognize the brand now. The new CX5 got rid of the turbo, doesn't have a hybrid offering, & [got rid of all buttons for a ipad display](.)
On top of that, they went on media bragging about how they much cost cutting they did in the new CX5. Assuming all of this will translate to other Mazda models.
huffalump1@reddit
Man that's actually crazy to hear, because those were some of the things that Mazda worked their asses off to improve on. Interior quality, overall quality, good powertrains, physical buttons...
Aerospaced0ut@reddit
All their power trains are purely utilitarian now. IE kinda dull. You have to buy a damn big vehicle to get the I6, and by that point it's not inspiring, either. Mazda used to have some speed lol.
anomalous_cowherd@reddit
I loved my previous Mazdas. But I didn't buy them because they were super cheap!
They were reliable and nice to drive, without all the delicate plastics and fancy toys of other makes.
So they decided to not be like that any more. I just bought my first EV and didn't even look at Mazda after my first sweep of who-does-what.
xrelaht@reddit
They’ve also had the best styling among mid priced cars.
What EV did you end up with?
anomalous_cowherd@reddit
A Cupra Born - so it's no slouch on the styling front itself! I've seen it described as "the VW ID.3's Evil Twin".
dissss0@reddit
What's wrong with Honda hybrids? They certainly work better than Nissan and Mitsubishi
Anchor_Aways@reddit
The civic, crv, and prelude hybrid efficiency is good, but they've completely shit the bed on EV and their partnership with Sony. Nissan at least has built out a EV identity for themselves and I don't consider mistubishi different from Nissan. Though yes Nissan hasn't done themselves favors on hybrids. Honda's models at this point all just seem bland imo. Most of their offerings feel boring or underpowered for their segment.
remuliini@reddit
Honda Prelude, 0-100km/h in 8.3 seconds, and they are describing it as "crisp, responsive acceleration." A brand new model for 2026, and the Prelude used to be a sporty coupe in their lineup.
CuddleTeamCatboy@reddit
Car And Driver clocked the Prelude’s 0-60 at 6.5 seconds.
remuliini@reddit
I'm happy to hear that, I picked my number directly from Honda's .fi homepage.
JNC123QTR@reddit
While it will still potentially be faster than the 8.3, I should note that the Preludes they get in America have a little more HP than European ones, at least on paper.
gt4rs@reddit
Never thought I'd be defending the Prelude but it could still be crisp responsive acceleration since it's electric driven. A bit like how even slower EVs can give a good kick off the line because of the torque
Torczyner@reddit
Not sure who would describe an 8 second stroll to 60mph as crisp though.
remuliini@reddit
I drove the previous model in 2002. At that time, it could go from 0-100km/h in 7.5s; it was fun and spirited.
This latest generation seems worse (on paper), even if the last 25 years have entirely changed the playing field.
The Prelude's current generation acceleration was surprisingly bad, all things considered, and also taking its heritage into account.
Fishinabowl11@reddit
Agreed, and that's not unique to their EVs either.
Carfr33k@reddit
No, Nissan's is actually better.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
They look a lot better in markets where they're allowed to sell the Mazda 6e and EZ-60, that's mostly a US problem for Mazda. Both of those are fairly obviously not an indigenous Mazda platform or design, but there's apparently enough changed that they feel different.
mustangfan12@reddit
Unfortunately EV ownership isn't easy everywhere, in the Bay Area you really want to have home charging because otherwise public charging is expensive and also it can be hard to find open charging spaces from time to time. OC Motivator on one of his videos told a story of one time he saw a person fighting with another EV owner over a charging spot
AdventurousPepper371@reddit
Agreed but the inconvenience is not necessarily that bad once you frame it as a change in routine. I used to have an EV (not anymore) and I would charge once a week at the Tesla super charger. It’ll take around 30 mins to charge to 100% and costed around $12.
You definitely have to check the number of chargers available on the app before heading there. While at a gas station you can show up without thinking. You gotta make plan for what to do during those 30 mins. While you can gas up and go with an ICE car
But at the end of the day some countries may not have a choice. Over in Australia, half of the gas stations are out of gas in some states. Even though they’re a wealthy country.
This is a dire situation where some people maybe forced to switch over to EVs even with the inconveniences that come with it.
xrelaht@reddit
The spot price is already just about there: refiners need their oil now, not as part of a futures contract, and wet barrels of Brent crude were $142 for part of this week. An analyst on Marketplace suggested it could hit $240 if this keeps up.
EZKTurbo@reddit
People keep saying that but idk. Volatility is way up when it comes to oil prices but the doomsday price shock has yet to materialize
jaredthegeek@reddit
Oil is going to stay high for a while if reports are accurate that 40% of oil infrastructure of the Gulf area has been destroyed.
Skeptical0ptimist@reddit
It’s also possible that the US destroys Iranian oil infrastructure completely after failure in all negotiations, thinking they could at least profit from high oil price being the largest producer. Iran could in return destroy all GCC oil infrastructure leading to a long term shortage.
AdventurousPepper371@reddit
Don't forget Iran's oil infrastructure. Israel has been bombing it and slowly chipping away at their oil infrastructure even if the US haven't
Snoo93079@reddit
If the war ends today prices are still going to rise.
Recoil42@reddit
I'd be amazed if this goes anywhere. Zero series had no future in the US after EPA CAFE and CARB ACC2 were ripped apart. Honda had every reason to prepare for them and every reason to back off. Sucks, and there's a discussion to be had about how taking regulators seriously is a bad business move, but that's about it.
Honda has the strongest fleet-average MPG of any automaker in the US, so they're well-prepared to handle US demand patterns for the next 2-3 years while everyone waits for conditions to change.
Astramael@reddit
They don’t participate in any segments which might produce worse fuel economy, and they only make one performance car. Not a very useful comparison.
If this was the only problem Honda was facing sure, it wouldn’t make any sense. The market somewhat got pulled out from under them.
But Honda has had a lot of problems in the last 5 years. 2/3 of engines in their model lineup have had recent problems. They have had numerous recalls and issues with quality. They have repeatedly missed market opportunities. They haven’t done anything innovative in 20 years.
There’s a reasonable argument that Honda needs new leadership. Remember the brand from the 90s and 00s? They churned out great, reliable products, they seemed to do something innovative every model release, they democratized performance and driving enthusiasm. What happened to that Honda? Can we have it back?
vw18t@reddit
Toyota, GM, Ford, stellantis and Nissan has had massive recalls in the past 5 years as well if not even more than Honda. Toyota is still having issues with the 3.4t V6 and GM the 6.2 V8 quality has definitely gone down in the past 5 years for most automakers
Astramael@reddit
“It’s okay if Honda sucks because other car companies suck too” is really not a good argument.
Besides, Toyota has one bad engine, but they produce over a dozen engine families. It’s just not comparable.
vw18t@reddit
I’m saying overall vehicle quality has gone downhill in the past 5 years across all brands even Toyota themselves admitted to falling quality.
https://www.guideautoweb.com/en/articles/81511/toyota-sounds-alarm-on-quality-supply-chain-issues/
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Recoil42@reddit
Which is precisely the point. They aren't at risk of a Malaise era style shock for the exact same reason they did so well during the Malaise era. Time is a flat circle.
Astramael@reddit
But they used to! Honda used to produce multiple enthusiast cars. Remember when they built the NSX, the S2000, and the Civic Type-R at the same time? This is on top of the performance-lite models like the Civic Si and Accord Coupe V6. These had worse fuel economy than the average of the lineup, but they’re also what defined the brand.
Recoil42@reddit
Christ, is everyone in this thread having a stroke? The discussion is about corporate average fuel economy and Honda's market position vulnerabilities today. The NSX and S2000 were never volume offerings, have literally never represented a meaningful contribution to Honda's CAFE figures, and neither car is in production today. A change in consumer preferences towards EVs and more fuel efficient vehicles wouldn't pull sales from he NSX because Honda.... doesn't currently make the NSX. The NSX which was most recently a hybrid, by the way.
Like what the everloving fuck is going on here? How are you struggling so bad to understand "company which makes small cars has less oil-shock risk than companies which make large cars"?
dragonbrg95@reddit
The point is their fuel efficient models are mediocre at best but because they don't have a full size truck on offer their overall average is still okay.
If you are actually comparison shopping based on efficiency honda would not win out.
Recoil42@reddit
You're forgetting that Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, and Mazda also do not have full-size trucks.
Bonkzzilla@reddit
Not just the 90's and 00's. I've watched them since the 70's. When the Accord first hit the market in the late 70's it was so far ahead it seemed like a spaceship compared to Pintos and Cavaliers a few years later. I still have great memories of the 80's Preludes with year wheel steering, those were amazing, and the first gen CRX is probably still my favorite car of all time
Infamous-Mixture-605@reddit
Importantly, they also produced affordable cars back then.
Oh_ffs_seriously@reddit
Wonder if there's a reason they won't come to Europe instead. Sure, Honda's sales here are abysmal, but still...
Recoil42@reddit
That's why. Honda sold like 75k units in Europe last year; that's not enough implied demand to sustain Zero production.
FMecha@reddit (OP)
They discontinued the Honda e there a year early before in Japan (where it also flopped there).
Capri280@reddit
Amusingly, the Honda e was selling better in Europe than in Japan at the time it was canned (IIRC)
FMecha@reddit (OP)
Too wide for Japan (1700mm width limit for tax breaks and road accessibility). Ironically, declining numbers of sub-1700mm narrows cars in Japan that aren't kei cars are something I've hearing from the Japanese side.
(Lack of post-launch marketing doesn't help.)
Capri280@reddit
I didn't realise that the japanese 1700mm width, 4700mm length compact classification was still around. Somehow was under the impression that they got rid of them in the 90s because automakers seemed to have stopped selling cars straddling the size limit with cheaper and more expensive trim levels above and below the dimension & displacement limit around that time
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
That’s reason they now offering N-One e now, it’s their Kei car size EV.
Back topic, Honda e was actually an idea EV hatchback, but it was overpriced with low battery range.
takao-obi@reddit
That is a bed of their own making. Honda closed their factories and decided not to fight for volume anymore but make as much margin as possible. Also they are not exactly spending much money on ads. Which led to dealers leaving.
Honda is now pretty much dependent on the US market like Subaru.
SPorterBridges@reddit
Last 3 Honda CEOs lasted 6 years each and none of them were presiding over the first net loss since Honda went public 7 decades ago. Next year will be 6 years for the current one.
metaPhx@reddit
Don’t do shit until this war is over. EVs might make a comeback
rewardingsnark@reddit
Pulling back on EV's is the big mistake.
Dick4NoReason1@reddit
lol, Honda was SO LATE to the game on electrification of their cars.
They denied what we right in front of their eyes while Toyota built expertise and market share for 15+ years right next door, starting with the Prius and now covering almost their entire fleet as hybrids.
And NOW they are catching flack for trying to catch up?
Beyond stupid.
Electric is the future. There’s no question. It’s just a question of pacing.
hiro111@reddit
Cancelling these EVs was probably the right choice. The regrets are a great example of the sunk cost fallacy. Forget about what you've spent previously, do the benefits still exist based on what you know today? Sometimes, the best decision is just to cut your losses and move on.
Combat_Wombat23@reddit
Acura’s ZDX was hilarious. Awful car. Literally just the Prologue, Blazer, whatever else. $70k MSRP being given away at a transaction price of $45k on average and I’d argue that about what it’s actually worth at best.
Sarah_hussain09@reddit
Worst part is if Honda made their own EV it would be even worse in terms of range, charging, performance, etc. Just like how terrible Toyotas EVs were. Although their new models seem a bit more competitive along with their price drops
dissss0@reddit
Honda does do an electric version of the international HR-V. You'd be right in thinking it's not a competitive offering though.
ygkg@reddit
Say it with me: EV's didn't fail, EV pricing failed.
GinJuiceDjibouti@reddit
Tough to believe that when you see how cheap used ones are.
Dreameater999@reddit
Indeed. The used EV market is booming right now is all I’ve been seeing lately. Plenty of great options on nice cars out there.
A lot of people are just making excuses. “EVs are too expensive!” Meanwhile, I am seeing ads where new Jeeps are starting at “only $60k!” and somehow I’m not hearing any complaints about that.
Yeah, ideally some new EVs would cost less… but it’s not like there’s a ton of new gas options that are that much cheaper these days - new cars are just ridiculously priced, period. Drivetrain doesn’t matter.
Snoo93079@reddit
How much would you pay for an EV?
ucancallmevicky@reddit
I bought a Honda HRV in 2024, all in it was about $27k and for the record I love it. Great little crossover/suv whatever you want to call it. I would pay around the same for an EV. Really liking Slate if it comes to market in the mid 20's it could be come my new daily
Snoo93079@reddit
You can get an equinox EV for that price.
Ileana_llama@reddit
honda focused too much into the usa market that forgot how to make durable and practical affordable cars.
Purrchil@reddit
Some media is always exaggerating the problems with the European brands, but the real victims of Chinese brands will be some Japanese brands.
takao-obi@reddit
In the European market this is getting more visible. The same market segments who went to Japanese brands and then to the Koreans brands are now first ones going for Chinese brands.
The Korean brands have cost the likes of Mitsubishi, Subaru and Honda here a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised to see those leaving the next 2-3 years.
Will be interesting if brands know for low prices like Dacia will also get hit.
Blunt_Object@reddit
I’m a former Honda engineer that worked in manufacturing execution. Strategic direction has never been a strength but from what I have heard from my friends that still work there I am deeply disappointed by the short term thinking at the expense of long term stability. It’s sad to see how far the company has fallen.
willyolio@reddit
That Honda-Nissan merger suddenly looking good again
jmillar2020@reddit
How is the European EV market going for Honda?
ilovemyronda@reddit
Honda really shit the bed with their outlook on the market. EV wasn’t able to take off that much due to plenty of reasons but mostly:
Relative-Message-706@reddit
I find it ironic that just a couple months after all these companies started backtracking on EV's, oil prices shot up. It's also interesting that Toyota was very conservative about their push towards EV's - and then just a couple months ago they launched the refreshed BZ(4x), CH-R, BZ Woodland and Highlander, alongside their Suburu counterparts - and now the refreshed BZ is the best selling EV in the USA.
DecisiveMove-@reddit
IDK about how much he has had influence on Acura , but that brand is teetering on the edge of obsolescence.
A shame that 5 years ago I couldn't think better of the brand .
henryx7@reddit
The prologue was such a bad EV for the price. For the same price you could get a Tesla, and i know that has negative sentiment as well, but at least it has additional features. The prologue was just a regular car they put a motor and battery into.
Anon198791@reddit
The Honda Hybrid are great... the Prologue w/ GM was not great.
Grandpabart@reddit
Honda gonna Honda
disgruntledempanada@reddit
I really can't believe how idiotic their exit from F1 was. Like right as they developed a championship winning engine they peaced out, lost a ton of staff, then started over again years later than the competition. Now they are having trouble finishing races without giving the drivers nerve damage.
withsexyresults@reddit
Haha and the reason for pulling out of F1? To focus on evs, which they’re bailing on now
milyuno2@reddit
Honda was the first to have hibrids....
magbarn@reddit
They're repeating the same mistakes as killing off their almost finished RWD platform during the Great Recession that would've had them putting out the world's best RWD based SUVs and Sedans in the 2010's.
TSLAog@reddit
The new Twingo EV is a prime example of where Honda should be. They’ve missed the mark really hard in the last decade. Just build a fun to drive electric Fit, CR-Z, etc… bring back a PHEV Honda element with a little more off-road chops and camping accessories.
aaffpp@reddit
I'm pretty sure the next US Administration will.do another 180 on EVs it makes sense ...the USA has a lot of scope for electrification. I see a future with at least one EV in every driveway... American cities are largely suburbs and EVs would fit in well...
Froloswaggin@reddit
i wonder if this blunder will cause them to make a special edition version of the CTR or prelude or something to try and make some extra dough to recoupe any losses they suffered. if that makes any sense.
CuddleTeamCatboy@reddit
Performance cars are generally the first thing to get cut when an automaker is losing money.
ashzeppelin98@reddit
Didn't stop the Z from being prematurely out of production or the surprisingly long lifecycle of the R35 GT-R despite Nissan's financial woes.
Carfr33k@reddit
Nissan is having the last laugh.
Boundish91@reddit
It astounds me how Japanese car makers have been sleeping on EVs.
They certainly have the engineering skills to do great at it, but they seem lost.
GVIrish@reddit
They bet heavily on hydrogen fuel cells as the zero emissions technology that would eventually win so they didn't join the EV race until very late.
Markuz@reddit
This is a country where sending an email is considered “informal” compared to sending a fax; with the declining birth rates in the west, we too have this technological/cultural stagnation to look forward to in the future.
pursuer_of_simurg@reddit
To be fair Toyota has started offering good EVs. Honda on the other hand just gave up.
SUPPERGREENGO-1375@reddit
When fuel reaching the market is only 70% of what is needed. They’ll be need for some other way to transport besides cars with gas.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
After we’ve seen Nissan and Toyota changing their CEO in recent, we’re now going to see Honda following…
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit
Pretty sure, right about now, Honda is texting GM
Heyyy
Missed you 😘
SlayerSEclipse@reddit
Hopefully they text Nissan back too so we can get a Type R powered Silvia
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
Merger with Nissan is a disaster, we don’t want to see that again.
sonbarington@reddit
👉👈you know that whole thing where I said we were going to make our own EV….
alien_farmer1@reddit
Honda lost the game when they shutdown their factories across the EU. What tf they were thinking by closing them at the markets they sell good.
Przedrzag@reddit
They presumably weren’t selling good in the EU
Pseudonym_741@reddit
They weren't. New Hondas are pretty rare in Europe.
bhargom@reddit
Get this CEO out of here. Absolutely ridiculous what they’ve done to Honda USA and Acura especially.
lottiexx@reddit
It's about to get real brothers
SPorterBridges@reddit
Shit's getting real.
HettySwollocks@reddit
Is there still time for you to ship me a black bird?