Trump has made his lack of support for EVs no secret, and his newly implemented ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ led to the nation’s US$7500 (A$11,450) tax credit for battery-powered cars being repealed.
As reported by Nikkei Asia, this has spelt bad news for Honda, which the publication claims has cancelled plans for one of its three upcoming EVs, specifically a large SUV originally due to launch in the US in 2027.
Honda hasn’t shown off a concept of the large SUV, only its mid-size SUV and sedan counterparts, which were previewed by the 0 SUV and 0 Saloon concepts earlier this year. Both of these models are reportedly still set to launch in North America from 2026.
While SUVs account for approximately 60 per cent of all vehicle sales in the US – Honda’s largest market globally – large SUVs aren’t as popular as their mid-size alternatives, and the axing of the federal tax credit has made Honda’s electric offering unviable.
It’s not known how affected Honda’s plan to launch seven EVs in the US from its upcoming 0 Series will be, due to the reported cancellation of the large SUV.
The report comes just over a month after Honda itself announced it was unlikely to meet its previous EV sales estimation of 30 per cent by 2030.
“Due to the recent market slowdown, the Honda EV sales ratio in 2030 is now expected to fall below the previously announced target of 30 per cent,” the carmaker announced in May.
“In light of this outlook, Honda is reassessing its EV strategy and roadmap, including plans for the EV product lineup and the timing of relevant investments including one to build a comprehensive EV value chain in Canada.
Honda walks back EV sales goals
“In the meantime, there is no change in the Honda position that EVs are the optimal solution to achieve carbon neutrality of passenger vehicles. Therefore, Honda will steadily carry out initiatives being undertaken to prepare for the future EV shift at the appropriate timing.”
While Honda hasn’t said how much further below the 30 per cent target it expects to be, it had previously committed 10 trillion Yen ($108 billion) towards EV development until early 2032.
This investment was subsequently reduced to seven trillion Yen ($75 billion), with some of that reduction understood to be from postponing its Canadian EV value chain.
Honda had previously earmarked CAD$15 billion (A$16.75 billion) to establish an EV assembly and battery plant in Ontario for the North American market, with the facility to be shared with a joint venture partner.