Honda scraps three US-built EVs only months ahead of launch, takes $15.7 billion hit

[midian182]

What just happened? Honda has pulled the plug on three EVs – the Honda 0 SUV, Honda 0 Saloon, and Acura RSX – just months before they were set to enter production in the US. The company said the overhaul could lead to total losses of as much as $15.7 billion. The write-down is severe enough to leave Honda facing its first annual loss as a listed company in nearly 70 years.

At CES 2025, Honda said the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV would begin rolling out in 2026, with North America first: the SUV in the first half of the year and the Saloon later in 2026.

The Acura RSX was also penciled in for late 2026. Honda said it would be built at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio as part of the company's EV Hub. Honda had previously said that hub would begin EV production in late 2025 with the Acura RSX, followed by Honda 0-series models.

Honda has blamed the decision on a mix of collapsing EV momentum in the US, harsher competitive pressure in China, and the impact of newly imposed tariffs on the profitability of its gasoline and hybrid models.

The 0 Saloon

The automaker also admitted it was unable to respond flexibly enough to changes in the market, saying customer priorities in China have shifted toward software-defined features and rapid iteration – areas where newer EV makers have gained a clear advantage.

Honda ultimately concluded that launching the three canceled EVs in the current climate would only pile on more losses over the long run.

In July 2025, it was reported that Honda had already halted development of a large electric SUV scheduled for 2027 and scaled back part of its EV investment, even while insisting the Honda 0 models were still on track for a US debut this year.

The Acura RSX prototype

There was also Honda and GM's 2022 plan to co-develop millions of affordable EVs for 2027, a partnership that once looked like a major piece of Honda's North American EV strategy before it unraveled.

Reuters said this week that global automakers have booked more than $70 billion in EV-related writedowns over the last year as slowing US demand, price wars in China, and a broader shift back toward hybrids force companies to rethink their timelines.

Honda is now leaning into next-generation hybrids, motorcycles, and financial services while promising a revised mid- to long-term strategy in May.

In early 2024, it was reported that Honda was finally preparing to bring multiple zero-emission vehicles to the US, including the Prologue and Acura ZDX, after arriving late to the EV party. But the company has reversed course, canceling several of the vehicles that were expected to play a key role in its broader electrification plans.

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Honda scraps three US-built EVs only months ahead of launch, takes $15.7 billion hit

 

[Str8Shot]

Our leadership in the once-great United States, has their heads so far up their asses they can see the light on the other side of their own ****. We’re run by a bunch of totally corrupted and subservient politicians on AIPAC’s payrolls. They enrich themselves through contracts, insider information, and of course the grand lobby of the bagel-lovers.

 

[wiyosaya]

Yet another company capitulates to a stable genius who's only accomplishment is shoveling a lot of sh!t.

 

[AndrettiGTO]

Jeeze, those photos are So Ugly!

 

[wiyosaya]

Jeeze, those photos are So Ugly!

Having owned a 94' Acura Integra, I think they look sharp.

If Acura/Honda had had an EV or Hybrid other than the Insight when I got rid of the 94' I might have bought one rather than an 06' Prius.

IMO, Honda still doesn't have anything EV or Hybrid that I think is better than the current Prius, thus I bought a 24' Prius Prime.

IMO, Honda is being short-sighted with this move.

 

[Kashim]

What?! They're cancelling US-built EVs that haven't even started production yet? How is this possible? I thought they were bringing back all the manufacturing jobs.

 

[yRaz]

Having owned a 94' Acura Integra, I think they look sharp.

If Acura/Honda had had an EV or Hybrid other than the Insight when I got rid of the 94' I might have bought one rather than an 06' Prius.

IMO, Honda still doesn't have anything EV or Hybrid that I think is better than the current Prius, thus I bought a 24' Prius Prime.

IMO, Honda is being short-sighted with this move.

Frankly, I think EVs biggest problem right now is every manufacturer turns them into rolling space dildos. If they a car that just happened to be electric I think a lot more people would be accepting of them. I would love to see them make 80s 90s and early 2000 stupid vehicles with electric drive trains. Around 90% of the US lives in an EV ready location. You don't need a special charger at home to have one. Most people can do all their driving just plugging it into a regular 120v line every night.

 

[wiyosaya]

What?! They're cancelling US-built EVs that haven't even started production yet? How is this possible? I thought they were bringing back all the manufacturing jobs.

I guess manufacturers are unable to see that the political winds change directions every four years. IMO, the smart thing to do would be to ignore the current direction of those winds and just continue on with their plans to release these vehicles. Honda, IMO, will be left in the competitive dust due to this decision.

Frankly, I think EVs biggest problem right now is every manufacturer turns them into rolling space dildos. If they a car that just happened to be electric I think a lot more people would be accepting of them. I would love to see them make 80s 90s and early 2000 stupid vehicles with electric drive trains. Around 90% of the US lives in an EV ready location. You don't need a special charger at home to have one. Most people can do all their driving just plugging it into a regular 120v line every night.

As I see it, if you look at the design of these cars from the aspect of least wind resistance, I'm willing to bet that the body shapes were created with low wind resistance in mind and likely proven in wind tunnels before they were finalized for manufacturing.

Over time, if you look at automobile body designs, I think its fairly easy to conclude that wind resistance his decreased over time. Vehicles from the 1950s look like their wind resistance was quite high, but move forward 50-years and its fairly easy to see that the wind resistance for many vehicles has decreased. A higher wind resistance cuts deeply into vehicles' efficiency since it's related to the square of the surface area of the body of the vehicle.

With potential customers pissing and moaning about range, designing a vehicle with the lowest possible wind resistance is an absolute necessity.

In any event, I am willing to bet that Honda did not cancel these vehicles because they were worried that people would think they look like "space dildos".

 

[Superconductor]

Good

 

[yRaz]

I guess manufacturers are unable to see that the political winds change directions every four years. IMO, the smart thing to do would be to ignore the current direction of those winds and just continue on with their plans to release these vehicles. Honda, IMO, will be left in the competitive dust due to this decision.

As I see it, if you look at the design of these cars from the aspect of least wind resistance, I'm willing to bet that the body shapes were created with low wind resistance in mind and likely proven in wind tunnels before they were finalized for manufacturing.

Over time, if you look at automobile body designs, I think its fairly easy to conclude that wind resistance his decreased over time. Vehicles from the 1950s look like their wind resistance was quite high, but move forward 50-years and its fairly easy to see that the wind resistance for many vehicles has decreased. A higher wind resistance cuts deeply into vehicles' efficiency since it's related to the square of the surface area of the body of the vehicle.

With potential customers pissing and moaning about range, designing a vehicle with the lowest possible wind resistance is an absolute necessity.

In any event, I am willing to bet that Honda did not cancel these vehicles because they were worried that people would think they look like "space dildos".

The market that needs to buy EVs the most don't care about efficiency. They take one look at them, think they look retarded and never consider them again. If manufacturers would get their heads out of their asses, we could have 300 mile EVs that don't look stupid for under $40k. But all they want to make are luxury products that regular people can't buy. Ford just said that EVs were a failure and now normal people are looking at EVs because the price of gas is starting to skyrocket. Be nice if you could get an extra ~1000 miles of range of your vehicle every month for $30-40 by charging it at home.

They need to make regular cars that regular people find attractive that aren't priced around financing so that the manufacturers internal pending system can make boatloads off the interest. The vehicles aren't designed to be bought, they are designed to be financed

 

[AnilD]

Honda spent years being famously late to the EV party, finally committed, announced the cars at CES with flashy concept videos, broke ground on an Ohio factory, and then canceled everything for a $15 billion loss. The punishment for hesitating was apparently the same as the punishment for going all in. Incredible outcome.

 

[p51d007]

They need to build vehicles that don't look as stupid as the cybertruck, the zero saloon etc.
Also, they DON'T need to be HUGE!
Not that I'm a fan of the Chinese vehicles yet, at least BYD does build CARS. Heck, the only
car that Ford makes these days (USA) is the Mustang! Everything else is trucks & SUV's because
of the profit! The industry has convinced everyone that you NEED an SUV just like they convinced
everyone in the 80's you needed a minivan.
The "car" industry (USA) isn't run by car guys any more. Heck, most of the CEO's probably don't
drive a vehicle anyway, but are driven around by a chauffeur.
My late father sold vehicles for over 33 years. He retired in the early 2000's and said the entire U.S.
auto industry has its head up its a**. They don't build cars that people want any more.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Our leadership in the once-great United States, has their heads so far up their asses they can see the light on the other side of their own ****. We’re run by a bunch of totally corrupted and subservient politicians on AIPAC’s payrolls. They enrich themselves through contracts, insider information, and of course the grand lobby of the bagel-lovers.

Yes, it was politicians who decided to cancel Honda’s EVs. In reality, this has little to do with changing market conditions as Honda said. It does have everything to do with these new EV models being dependent on government subsidies to produce them.

Honda’s EVs were never going to be profitable/successful on their own, otherwise Honda would’ve launched them anyways. In reality, putting the federal government tens of billions of dollars further into debt to help US taxpayers pay for unaffordable EVs was never the solution. The politicians who passed the “Inflation Reduction Act” are to blame. They ended up most harming the automakers they most wanted to help, and helped Tesla become even more profitable.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

This was stopping future bleeding.

Ending Fed subsidies hurt EV demand.

Trump tariffs hurt their ability to subsidize EVs themselves with gas car profits (less profits to fun R&D).

China’s EVs are innovating much faster than everyone else. Like 1/3 the development time compared to US, Europe and Japan. Those companies have responded but even with the changes China is still 1/2 to 2/3 the development time.

That speed may translate into long term reliability issues in China’s brands BUT right now it means many many sales.

Honda saw that these new cars would cost more in the long run than they would make in sales.

 

[magoid]

Frankly, I think EVs biggest problem right now is every manufacturer turns them into rolling space dildos. If they a car that just happened to be electric I think a lot more people would be accepting of them. I would love to see them make 80s 90s and early 2000 stupid vehicles with electric drive trains. Around 90% of the US lives in an EV ready location. You don't need a special charger at home to have one. Most people can do all their driving just plugging it into a regular 120v line every night.

I agree. To me, Tesla only got where they are because they followed Toyota's old moto of discreet designs (with the obvious exception...), that would get acceptance from the majority of potential buyers.

Most established manufacturers insisted in strange looking models that appealed to a small group of people. While I learned not to judge the qualities of a vehicle purely based on its looks, it is hard to buy something you think is ugly or (if you are a introvert) draws too much attention.