Honda Mulls Freezing EV Plant Project in Canada

Tokyo, May 6 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Honda Motor Co. is considering an indefinite freeze on the planned construction of an electric vehicle production plant in Canada, apparently in response to a slowdown in EV demand in the United States, informed sources said Wednesday.

Honda is reviewing its strategy for its North American operations, shifting its focus from EVs to strengthening hybrid vehicles.

Originally, the company had planned to begin operations at an EV assembly plant and a battery plant in Ontario, eastern Canada, in 2028.

However, in May last year, Honda announced that it would postpone the project by about two years due to declining EV demand in the United States. The total investment was estimated at about 15 billion Canadian dollars, and the company had already completed land acquisition and other preparations.

Among other Japanese automakers, Nissan Motor Co. also announced last week that it would scrap its plans to produce EVs at a vehicle assembly plant in the United States. Companies have been forced to review their strategies due to the U.S. government's elimination of tax incentives for EVs, industry sources said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]