Global carmakers have booked more than $70bn (R1.18-trillion) in writedowns in the past year as they scale back electric vehicle ambitions on a tough US market under President Donald Trump, price wars in China and a more complex mix of vehicle types in Europe.
The latest to join the growing pile is Japan’s Honda, which on Thursday said it expected a hit of $15.7bn over the next few years to restructure its EV business. CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the group would focus on hybrids, echoing moves by peers Stellantis, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen, which backtracked on their EV ambitions or launched new combustion engine models.
Legacy carmakers are struggling to keep up with new entrants, especially from China, and watered-down electrification targets in Europe and, in particular, the US, a key market where the EV shift has stalled sharply.
Honda
Japan’s second-largest carmaker said on March 12 it expects to lose ¥2.5-trillion (about R265bn) over the next few years as it scraps the development of some planned EV models.
It added that it expects to lose as much as ¥570bn in the year to the end of March, versus a previous forecast for a profit of ¥550bn.
Stellantis
On February 6 the Franco-Italian carmaker booked its huge writedown, the biggest yet, which it said was linked to rejigging its product lineup to meet consumer demand and new emission regulations in the US.
The write-down includes payments of approximately €6.5bn (R125,9bn) expected to be made over the next four years.
Ford
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said in December it would take a $19.5bn writedown and end several EV models, and pivot hard into ICE and hybrid models instead.
General Motors
The largest US carmaker by sales said in January it would take a $6bn charge to unwind some EV investments, including a $4.2bn cash charge related to contract cancellations and settlements with suppliers.
Volkswagen/Porsche
Volkswagen, Europe’s top carmaker, said last September it would take a €5.1bn hit from a far-reaching product overhaul at its Porsche unit, which delayed some EV models in favour of hybrids and combustion-engine cars.
That included an impairment charge of about $3.5bn.
Reuters
