Honda Takes $1.7 Billion Hit On Ev Business After Not Even Trying That Hard

Honda

Good morning! It's Tuesday, February 10, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Honda takes a monolithic write-off deed connected its struggling EV business, Ford is rethinking its van offerings successful nan U.S. and Europe, Germany's car manufacture is successful problem arsenic jobs proceed to time off and Jaguar is recalling complete 2,200 I-Pace EVs for a pesky small occurrence problem.

In nan expansive standard of nan automotive universe, Honda is connected nan utmost debased extremity of nan push for electrical vehicles. Across some nan Honda and Acura brands, location person only been 2 EVs successful nan U.S.: nan Prologue and ZDX, and nan ZDX is now dead. Keep successful mind, some of those cars are conscionable Chevy Blazer EVs wearing different clothes. Sure, location are immoderate other, mini EVs successful Europe and Asia, but those aren't precisely large sellers, either. Still, Honda someway didn't hedge its EV bets enough, truthful its calling for a "fundamental review" of its automobile strategy aft taking connected immoderate beautiful superior losses successful nan EV space.

Honda's write-off    and expenses for its EV business hit ¥267.1 cardinal (about $1.72 billion) successful nan last 9 months of 2025, nan institution precocious said. Its world EV income fell to 15,000 vehicles successful nan past quarter. At nan aforesaid time, Toyota, nan one-time aureate boy of EV skepticism, saw its EV income double to 63,000 units during nan aforesaid clip period. From Automotive News:

Honda's write-offs and impairments connected EVs sold successful nan U.S. on pinch write-offs scrapping improvement of EVs primitively successful its merchandise plans gave nan company's automobile business an operating nonaccomplishment of ¥166.4 cardinal ($1.07 billion) for nan first 3 quarters of its fiscal year.

Honda Motor Co.'s car portion has now notched 4 consecutive quarters of operating losses. The institution expects its EV business to suffer astir ¥700 cardinal ($4.48 billion) successful nan afloat fiscal year.

"We request to behaviour a basal reappraisal of our strategies to rebuild our competitory strength," Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara said Feb. 10 while announcing a 61 percent driblet successful consolidated operating profit for nan October-December fiscal 3rd quarter.

Additional EV charges of ¥43.4 cardinal ($277.9 million) successful nan 3 months added to ¥223.7 cardinal ($1.43 billion) already booked successful nan six months done September. For nan afloat fiscal twelvemonth done March 31, Honda is informing of full EV-related write-offs of ¥290 cardinal ($1.86 billion).

The EV deed is almost arsenic bad arsenic nan U.S. tariff impact. Honda expects duties to lop disconnected astir ¥310 cardinal ($1.98 billion) this fiscal year, pinch operating profit forecast to plunge 55 percent.

The spending isn't adjacent to complete yet, either. Honda apparently expects further EV charges pursuing nan result of negotiations pinch GM connected nan winding down of their EV squad up. Honda reduced its procurement from GM and, thus, it must compensate nan institution for nan difference. Between October and December, Prologue income dove 86% to conscionable 2,641 units, and backmost successful September it was announced that nan ZDX would die.

Back successful 2024, Honda said it would waste arsenic galore arsenic 2 cardinal EVs globally successful 2030, but now that number is expected to beryllium location betwixt 700,000 and 750,000. I dream they tin moreover get to that number, because immoderate of nan EVs they've sewage successful nan pipeline, for illustration nan 0 Series and new Acura RSX, do look very promising. Perhaps Honda would person been amended served if it developed its ain EVs for nan U.S. from nan jump, alternatively than replying connected GM, but I conjecture we'll ne'er know.

Ford

By nan extremity of nan decade, Ford will person made immoderate large changes to its commercialized van lineup successful North American and Europe. Instead of building a marque caller all-electric van for Europe, it's going to proceed widen nan life of nan electrical vans it already offers complete there. Additionally, it's looking for illustration we successful North America mightiness not get a caller electrical commercialized van astatine all. 

Instead, nan Blue Oval will connection a caller "affordable" commercialized van that'll beryllium powered by state and hybrid drivetrains. Its group to beryllium built astatine Ford's Ohio Assembly Plant. So, if you want an E-Transit, you amended enactment fast, because it'll beryllium gone sooner alternatively than later. From the Detroit Free Press:

Ford Pro — Ford's commercialized conveyance portion — is simply a highly profitable business for nan institution and CEO Jim Farley has touted really it offers much revenue-adding opportunities beyond conveyance income specified arsenic successful subscription services.

In December, erstwhile Ford outlined its plans to overhaul its full business, Farley said, "The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying superior into higher-return maturation opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids and high-margin opportunities for illustration our caller artillery power retention business."

At that time, Farley besides said Ford will motorboat 5 caller vehicles priced nether $40,000 by nan extremity of nan decade, 4 of which will beryllium assembled successful nan U.S. The automaker plans to prosecute crossed its factories successful Michigan, Tennessee and Ohio arsenic it expands its motortruck and van lineup.

Ford's much caller mini van was nan Transit Connect, a mini gasoline van, which started astatine $34,100 successful 2023, nan past twelvemonth earlier it was discontinued. After Ford stopped making nan Transit Connect, Ford said, "Even though it's going away, we still person a fewer different Transit Vans successful our lineup to meet your needs. Transit XL, XLT, and nan all-electric E-Transit. All 3 conscionable arsenic comfortable, versatile, and tin arsenic Transit Connect."

The larger commercialized Transit cargo vans commencement astatine $48,400, Deep said.

Affordability has been a large taxable this twelvemonth for Farley and Chair Bill Ford. At nan Detroit Auto Show past month, Bill Ford said, "We person much EVs coming and we person a very affordable EV coming here, which I deliberation was a large problem pinch EVs. They simply were not affordable. We're attacking that problem."

After ending Escape and Corsair accumulation astatine nan extremity of 2025, Ford said it is spending $2 cardinal connected retooling its Louisville Assembly Plant to build a caller mid-size pickup, which is slated to commencement astatine nan $30,000 people erstwhile it launches adjacent year. The automaker is apparently putting successful a recently developed EV level astatine nan mill that'll extremity up underpinning a fistful of cheap-ish EVs that are slated to travel retired complete nan adjacent fewer years.

Leonhard Simon/Getty Images

Germany's automotive industry is successful a spot of a pickle arsenic jobs and investments proceed to move abroad, and now nan German Association of nan Automotive Industry lobby (VDA) is calling connected Berlin and Brussels to fig retired a measurement to spur growth. The VDA's president said that Germany is acquisition a "huge crisis" complete nan issue. From Reuters:

A VDA study of small- and medium-sized German enterprises crossed nan car proviso chain, presented by Mueller connected Tuesday, showed that 72% of companies scheme to dial backmost their investments successful Germany, either by moving them overseas (28%), postponing them (25%) aliases cancelling them wholly (19%).

"These finance decisions are already having an effect connected employment figures," [VDA President Hildegard] Mueller said of nan results of nan survey, conducted from January 11 to 25.

Just nether 2 thirds of nan 124 companies surveyed trim jobs successful Germany past year, pinch 87% citing competitory disadvantages.

Currently, 49% are cutting jobs successful Germany, compared pinch conscionable 7% cutting jobs abroad.

German car suppliers person faced falling orders, stiff title from overseas and a difficult modulation towards electrical vehicles and package arsenic apical carmakers for illustration Volkswagen and Mercedes as good arsenic suppliers Bosch, ZF and Aumovio have announced tens of thousands of occupation cuts.

Mueller warmed of a dire governmental consequence to jobs for illustration these being lost. She said that Germany's far-right AfD party has been targeting businesses wherever workers person lacked occupation security. 

The past point you want to do is springiness Elon Musk's 2nd favourite German governmental party a foothold successful nan country.

Jaguar

Jaguar is recalling 2,278 2020-2021 electric I-Pace crossovers successful nan U.S. because nan precocious voltage artillery mightiness overheat and summation nan consequence of a fire. While that mightiness sound nice, fixed really acold it is and how unspeakable I-Pace resale values are, it's astir apt still amended that they don't burst into flame. For now, owners are being asked to parkland and complaint their I-Paces extracurricular and not to complaint supra 90% arsenic a precaution. From nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

As an interim repair, nan artillery package will beryllium updated by a dealer, aliases done an over-the-air (OTA) update to limit nan authorities of complaint to 90%. The last remedy is presently nether development. Repairs will beryllium performed free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of nan information consequence are expected to beryllium mailed April 3, 2026. Additional letters will beryllium sent erstwhile nan last remedy is available.

I don't know, man. An interim remedy of charging conscionable stopping astatine 90% sounds a small spot janky, but I suppose that is Jaguar's vibe. There are a batch of disapproval you tin propulsion a this car, but 1 this is for sure: it's perfectly British.

History.com

I'll ne'er forgive Fox for canceling nan original tally of "Arrested Development" for a mates of reasons. First off, it trim perchance nan top sitcom of each clip down successful nan mediate of its prime. Second, it meant that those horrible Netflix seasons happened. Now, moreover I'll admit that I was excited for those Netflix seasons erstwhile they were first announced, and I moreover tried to person myself that they were good, but we each cognize they weren't. Yeah, nan re-edit of play 4 helped a small bit, but it ne'er sewage adjacent to nan heights of nan original 3 seasons. It's a damn shame.