Honda’s $9 Billion EV Pivot Just Delivered a First for the Company. And It Wasn’t Good.

Honda just did something it hasn’t done since 1957: It lost money. The Japanese automaker posted a $2.7 billion annual loss for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Just five years ago, Honda pledged to make its entire lineup electric or hydrogen-powered by 2040 — a more aggressive timeline than Toyota, which stayed cautious about EVs and stuck with hybrids. Honda even partnered with General Motors and Sony to develop battery-powered cars. But customers weren’t ready to plug in. After an initial wave of early adopters, mainstream buyers balked at high prices and spotty charging infrastructure. Then, federal EV subsidies got gutted under the Trump administration.

Now Honda is ditching that 2040 target entirely and doubling down on gas-electric hybrids, planning to launch 15 next-generation models by 2030. CEO Toshihiro Mibe says the goal is to restore Honda to record profits by the decade’s end.

Honda just did something it hasn’t done since 1957: It lost money. The Japanese automaker posted a $2.7 billion annual loss for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Just five years ago, Honda pledged to make its entire lineup electric or hydrogen-powered by 2040 — a more aggressive timeline than Toyota, which stayed cautious about EVs and stuck with hybrids. Honda even partnered with General Motors and Sony to develop battery-powered cars. But customers weren’t ready to plug in. After an initial wave of early adopters, mainstream buyers balked at high prices and spotty charging infrastructure. Then, federal EV subsidies got gutted under the Trump administration.

Now Honda is ditching that 2040 target entirely and doubling down on gas-electric hybrids, planning to launch 15 next-generation models by 2030. CEO Toshihiro Mibe says the goal is to restore Honda to record profits by the decade’s end.