Honda announced plans to launch 15 new hybrid models by 2030 in North America, targeting a 10% increase in fuel efficiency and 30% cost reduction, while absorbing a $9 billion loss from its EV business and converting US factories for hybrid production.
<p>After US government policies wrecked the country's electric vehicle market, automakers have been scrambling to adapt. The <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/10/its-october-1-so-the-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-is-dead-now/">loss of federal clean vehicle tax incentives</a> and funding for charging infrastructure, combined with capricious tariffs, has resulted in a 28 percent drop in EV sales for the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/04/ev-adoption-in-america-whos-winning-whos-losing/">first three months of the year</a>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Honda's first move was to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/facing-heavy-losses-honda-cancels-its-three-us-made-electric-vehicles/">cancel a trio of EVs</a> it planned to build in Ohio, along with <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/honda-cancels-the-two-electric-vehicles-it-was-developing-with-sony/">another pair of EVs</a> planned 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.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/honda-shows-off-new-hybrids-for-america-as-it-absorbs-9-billion-ev-loss/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/honda-shows-off-new-hybrids-for-america-as-it-absorbs-9-billion-ev-loss/#comments">Comments</a></p>
# Honda shows off new hybrids for America as it absorbs $9 billion EV loss
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/honda-shows-off-new-hybrids-for-america-as-it-absorbs-9-billion-ev-loss/](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/honda-shows-off-new-hybrids-for-america-as-it-absorbs-9-billion-ev-loss/)
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\.
[](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Acura-Hybrid-SUV-Prototype.jpg)
This Acura hybrid SUV is coming to America\.
Credit: Acura
This Acura hybrid SUV is coming to America\.Credit: Acura
Honda plans to rejigger its US factories so they’re all capable of producing hybrids; last year,[we learned about](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/02/honda-cleans-greens-its-ohio-factories-to-add-evs-to-the-mix/)the 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 strategies
Honda’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 the[diminutive vehicle form factor](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/04/a-beginners-guide-to-the-world-of-weird-and-wonderful-japanese-import-cars/)was recently praised by President Trump, although my repeated inquiries to the US Department of Transportation have failed to uncover any actual progress toward[his promise to make these tiny cars and trucks street\-legal here](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/12/trump-wants-tiny-japanese-style-cars-for-us-even-as-he-cuts-mpg-goals/)\.
Growth in China will require the company to “incorporat\[e\] the overwhelming speed of local businesses,” and, unlike the US, success here*will*require 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\.
US automakers like Ford and GM are pivoting from struggling EV programs to battery energy storage systems, repurposing plants and forming partnerships to supply utilities and data centers, with Ford's new Ford Energy subsidiary driving a 13% stock surge.
The US BUILD America 250 bill proposes a new annual tax on electric vehicles ($130 for BEVs, $35 for PHEVs) while some lawmakers push to cut the gas tax to zero. Critics argue the tax unfairly targets the small percentage of EVs that cause minimal road damage.
GM announces that 12 of its EV models now support bidirectional charging, enabling owners to power their homes and sell excess energy back to the grid, though adoption requires costly hardware and utility partnerships.
The 2026 Honda Prelude hybrid coupe offers an engaging driving experience with adaptive suspension and a unique S+ mode that mimics paddle-shift transmissions, balancing comfort and sportiness at an affordable price.
The Mexican government unveiled the Olinia Uno, an affordable electric vehicle prototype costing about $8,500, with plans to launch next summer as part of the Plan México initiative to boost the country's economy and manufacturing sector.