Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe's February visit to a bustling electric vehicle plant in China left him deeply concerned, SlashGear reported.
Like other major automakers, Honda was forced to rapidly pivot in mid-2025 after an abrupt policy shift in the United States eliminated a longstanding electric vehicle tax credit.
American manufacturers Ford and General Motors both sustained multibillion-dollar losses, while Honda's losses topped $15.7 billion.
Late last year, Mibe acknowledged that American policy shifts had perhaps delayed the transition from internal combustion engines to EVs, but he added that the brand had a moral imperative to curb rising temperatures by phasing out fossil fuels.
Honda disclosed its first annual loss in early March, not long after Mibe's visit to the Chinese EV manufacturing plant. According to SlashGear, its speed and efficiency alarmed him.
"We have no chance against this," Mibe said, per a March 31 Nikkei Asia article.
"From parts procurement to logistics management, everything at the facility was automated, and there were no humans on the production floor."
On Reddit's r/Technology, users analyzed the news, and many expressed frustration with fluctuations in the American market that made it harder to switch to an EV.
"It's really infuriating, isn't it? Like, we want these electric cars and if there was a good production … demand would have gone up," one user replied. "I'm ready to buy electric. I'm ready for removing my dependence on oil."
"I just traded in my Honda for a new Toyota ev. Couldn't be happier," another wrote.
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"Americans don't buy evs if there is no supply. Western leadership chased an eternal present and ran from the inevitable tomorrow," a third lamented.
Ultimately, users appeared to agree on one thing: The United States' failure to stay on track for the energy transition would likely become a long-term economic liability.
"America is falling behind and their answer is to just ban things so that the rich can stay rich a little longer," a commenter griped.
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