More automakers are shifting production focus to hybrids after the federal pullback of electric-vehicle incentives and the rise of gas prices.
Honda announced plans to reallocate more development and production resources to hybrids due to a surge in demand, reserving excess capacity at its Ohio plants to hybrid and gas vehicles while making all of its North American factories hybrid production-ready.
The news follows similar announcements recently by Ford, Toyota and Subaru to increase hybrid production in the U.S. to meet consumer demand and, whether they said so or not, avoid higher U.S. trade tariffs. The Trump administration has hiked tariffs on imports from around the world, in part to boost domestic production.
Honda said it will introduce next-generation hybrids starting next year and roll out 15 worldwide by 2030, mostly in North America.
Also in North America, Honda said it will introduce “large-size”hybrid models in 2029 – what’s known as the D-segment size in Europe and considered midsize in the U.S. – or larger sizes in a likely appeal to many Americans’ taste for oversize vehicles.
Not all of its hybrids will be big, though, as many consumers struggle to afford any new model. The Japanese automaker premiered a hybrid sedan prototype to hit the market in the next two years along with an Acura SUV hybrid prototype.
As gas prices add to consumer inflation woes, Honda said its coming hybrids will be more than 10% more fuel efficient due to a new hybrid system it says improves upon its 2023 system. At the same time, it aims to reduce the system’s cost by more than 30%.
To enable the shift from production of pure EVs to hybrids, Honda said it and joint venture partner LG Energy Solution will switch part of their EV battery production lines to hybrid battery manufacturing.
Honda did mention tariff avoidance in its announcement, albeit tucked far down in a press release.
“Honda also will increase the local content of … (assemblies) and component parts of motors and (electric vehicle) inverters by more than four times the current level, to prepare for the expansion of hybrid vehicle production, reducing risk of a supply shortage and mitigating the impact of U.S. tariffs.”
