【AI前沿】Honda shows off new hybrids for America as it absorbs $9 billion EV loss

ouchHonda shows off new hybrids for America as it absorbs $9 billion EV lossThe automaker marked its first annual loss in more than 70 years.Jonathan M. Gitlin–May 15, 2026 11:56 am|118Is this the next Honda Accord?Credit:

      HondaIs this the next Honda Accord?Credit:

      HondaText
    settingsStory textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth*StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers onlyLearn moreMinimize to navAfter US government policies wrecked the country’s electric vehicle market, automakers have been scrambling to adapt. Theloss of federal clean vehicle tax incentivesand funding for charging infrastructure, combined with capricious tariffs, has resulted in a 28 percent drop in EV sales for thefirst three months of the year.That’s a far cry from just a few years ago, when optimism abounded and a strong commitment to an EV-heavy portfolio translated into a higher share price. As those commitments are abandoned, there’s a financial price to pay, including more than $9 billion of write-downs for Honda, which made its first operating loss in the company’s history.Honda’s first move was tocancel a trio of EVsit planned to build in Ohio, along withanother pair of EVsplanned as part of a joint venture with Sony. Yesterday, in Tokyo, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe held a press conference to announce the automaker’s plan to rebuild its business in the wake of these changes.LikeGeneral Motors before it, Honda says it needs more hybrids moving forward; this technology, importantly, requires far fewer expensive battery minerals and materials than a battery EV.“Honda will reallocate more development and production resources into hybrid models to accelerate the market launch ahead of the original schedule and increase the number of compelling products,” said Mibe. “We have made steady progress in the development of hybrid vehicle technologies, where Honda has strengths, based on our belief that hybrid models will continue to be the key to addressing environmental challenges.”To that end, Honda says it will launch 15 models with a new generation of hybrid powertrains by 2030, with most of them destined for here in North America. Yes, that includes a full-size SUV to compete in the D-segment with vehicles like the Toyota Sequoia or Chevrolet Suburban. Honda is targeting a 10 percent increase in fuel efficiency and a 30 percent reduction in cost for the new hybrid system, with the first of the new hybrids—the sedan you see here—planned to debut next year. Acura, Honda’s North American performance brand, isn’t being left out—at least one of the prototypes shown was a new hybrid Acura SUV.This Acura hybrid SUV is coming to America.Credit:
                                  AcuraThis Acura hybrid SUV is coming to America.Credit:

      AcuraHonda plans to rejigger its US factories so they’re all capable of producing hybrids; last year,we learned aboutthe effort it made to incorporate BEV assembly into its Marysville, Ohio, plant. And a battery joint venture with LG Energy Solution that was supposed to make EV batteries will have part of its line converted to make hybrid traction batteries, now that Honda will need so many more of those.Regional strategiesHonda’s plan for Japan looks very different from its plan for North America. Instead of lots of bigger hybrids, Japan will receive more electric Kei cars; you will probably recall thediminutive vehicle form factorwas recently praised by President Trump, although my repeated inquiries to the US Department of Transportation have failed to uncover any actual progress towardhis promise to make these tiny cars and trucks street-legal here.Growth in China will require the company to “incorporat[e] the overwhelming speed of local businesses,” and, unlike the US, success herewillrequire many morenew EVs. India will be another important region, according to the company. There, the plan is for mid-size vehicles, but also products far smaller that can tempt some of Honda’s 6 million Indian motorcycle customers to trade up to something more expensive with twice as many wheels.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC.118 Comments