Honda To End Gasoline Vehicle Output at China Plant in Shift to EVs

Honda Motor Co will discontinue gasoline vehicle production at one of its four plants in China and may do so at another plant as part of restructuring in the world’s largest auto market, a source close to the matter said Friday.

Honda will terminate output of gasoline vehicles at a plant jointly run by its local partner Guangzhou Automobile Group Co and will consider ending production at another joint venture plant set up with Dongfeng Motor Corp.

While Honda will keep running two electric vehicle plants as demand shifts in China to zero emission vehicles, the beleaguered carmaker aims to cut back its annual capacity of 960,000 gasoline vehicles in the country.

Honda is in the midst of revamping its EV operations and is expected to have plunged into a net loss in the year ended March 2026 for the first time since its listing in 1957.

Japan’s second biggest automaker built 680,000 vehicles in 2025 in China, down 16.4 percent amid intensifying price competition with local EV makers such as BYD Co.

Honda’s sales in the country stood at 36,000 vehicles in March, falling for the 26th straight month and far below more than 150,000 in the same month in 2021, as it falls behind Chinese rivals in launching new models.

Meanwhile, Honda Cars India Ltd, leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, registered domestic sales of 7,585 units and exports of 2,451 units in March 2026.

Speaking about the sales momentum, Kunal Behl, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “Demand for all Honda models specially Amaze and Elevate continues to be strong with exciting promotions & product offerings which helped us achieve 5 percent growth during Mar’26.

 We are excited to enter the new fiscal with plans to expand our lineup, including the launch of our first BEV in the second half. We remain highly optimistic that our strong focus on customer satisfaction will continue to drive growth and sustain positive momentum.”

The company’s sales were 7,228 units in domestic sales and 4,656 units of exports in March’25.