Honda’s car troubles began long before its disastrous bet on EVs

Honda stunned investors last week by dropping a 2.5 trillion yen (S$20.1 billion) impairment charge bomb. Read more at straitstimes.com.

TOKYO - Honda Motor invested too much and too late into a short-lived electric vehicle (EV) boom, and now finds itself saddled with an ageing line-up and questions about its future as an automaker. 

The Japanese company stunned investors by dropping a 2.5 trillion yen (S$20.1 billion) impairment charge bomb last week stemming largely from its ill-timed bet on EVs – some scrapped just months before debuting. That is likely a precursor to reporting its first annual loss on record. 

But Honda’s problems are not limited to its failed bid to catch up with all-electric market leaders BYD and Tesla.

Long known for spunky and innovative vehicles, Honda has had trouble in recent years living up to that reputation. Nowhere is that more the case than in the United States, by far its biggest sales market.

Sales in the US grew a sub-average 0.5 per cent in 2025 and Honda’s once-promising China business has stalled in recent years.

The result has been four consecutive quarters of losses from its auto operations, the longest slump since the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami 15 years ago.