By Jo Nova
So many great companies fell into the climate sink hole
Such was the cultural vibe that giant corporations all collectively jumped off a cliff together hoping to invent a new technology fast enough to be able to land.
In the case of Honda, after 70 years of endless profits, they burnt at least $9 billion dollars, and have given up the idea of trying to get EVs to make up one fifth of their sales by 2030. The demand just isn’t there. They also thought they could shift their whole fleet to electric or fuel cells by 2030. That’s gone too.
Honda posts first annual loss on $9 billion EV writedown, scraps EV sales goals
TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) – Honda Motor (7267.T), opens new tab posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years as a listed company on Thursday, hit by more than $9 billion in costs to restructure its electric-vehicle business, and the firm scrapped its long-term EV sales target.
Revealing its worst financial report since Honda listed on the stock market in 1957 underscores how risky an aggressive bet on EVs can be for a legacy automaker when it slams into weaker-than-expected demand.
Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Japan’s second-largest automaker, on Thursday said Honda is scrapping its goal of having EVs make up a fifth of its new car sales in 2030 as well as a target of a full shift to electric or fuel-cell vehicle sales by 2040.
Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Japan’s second-largest automaker, on Thursday said Honda is scrapping its goal of having EVs make up a fifth of its new car sales in 2030 as well as a target of a full shift to electric or fuel-cell vehicle sales by 2040.
And remember, the oil crisis is making things as good for EVs as it possibly can.
Image by Andrea Masciulli from Pixabay
Get woke, go broke.
Every single time.
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Jaguar, a once great car maker, signed its death knell a while ago.
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Yes, with a fully woke ad full of freaks of indeterminate gender and not a car in sight, plus stopping production of ICE cars.
Elon Musk responded to the ad:
Jaguar blamed the backlash on “vile hatred and intolerance” but it still won’t sell many cars.
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A work colleague has a 10 year old Jaguar XF 3lt V6 Turbo diesel sedan, it’s a beautiful, stylish car with 300+ hp, and he gets 5lts (sometimes high 4s) per 100km fuel economy (verified to me with photos and vid evidence). It must be the best motor / vehicle for high power output with excellent economy?!
How a company goes from building such great vehicles to the ridiculous, hideous contraption in their woke ad is beyond me.
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Jaguar Land Rover has been a subsidiary of India-based Tata Motors since they founded it as a holding company for the acquisition of Jaguar Cars and Land Rover from Ford in 2008.
Credit: wiki
That could not possibly have any effect on the manufacture and sale of cars, could it?
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I was convinced in 2012 to buy a Mahindra XUV500 AWD 2.2 litres diesel with towing capacity 2.5 tonnes and 250 kgs towball weight capacity and over 4 years I drive it all over Australia on trips of 4-8 weeks duration towing an 5.6 metre caravan and when traded in had covered over 200,000 kms mostly country roads and remote areas. In that time not one major problem. The exhaust gas valve was replaced in the last year, there was an AWD nylon bush worn out causing a shudder in the drive system at highway speeds replaced easily, and apart from those repairs serviced in accordance with manufacturer service book instructions on time most times.
Manufactured in India, diesel engine manufactured for Mahindra in Austria and Jeep transmission 6-speed manual gearbox. The only complaint from me was that first gear was slightly too high for hill starts towing.
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I was convinced in 2012 to buy a Mahindra XUV500 AWD 2.2 litres diesel with towing capacity 2.5 tonnes and 250 kgs towball weight capacity and over 4 years I drive it all over Australia on trips of 4-8 weeks duration towing an 5.6 metre caravan and when traded in had covered over 200,000 kms mostly country roads and remote areas. In that time not one major problem. The exhaust gas valve was replaced in the last year, there was an AWD nylon bush worn out causing a shudder in the drive system at highway speeds replaced easily, and apart from those repairs serviced in accordance with manufacturer service book instructions on time most times.
Manufactured in India, diesel engine manufactured for Mahindra in Austria and Jeep transmission 6-speed manual gearbox. The only complaint from me was that first gear was slightly too high for hill starts towing.
I replaced the XUV500 with an Isuzu MUX because I wanted more towing capacity reserve and the torque of the 3.0 litre diesel engine
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I think in future, in order for woke companies to be profitable, they will increasingly focus on selling failed technologies to Australia because they know our woke, technologically and scientifically ignorant, fanatically UN-following globalist Government will be prepared to subsidise (with taxpayer dollars) and/or compel purchase as they do with other failed technologies like wind, solar and Big Batteries, or previously did with mRNA covid “vaccines” etc. etc..
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👏👏👏👏 & another one bites the dust!!!
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Same as Europe. If you’d set out to destroy one of your most valuable manufacturing industries, and hand all the profits to a dangerous enemy (China), you couldn’t have designed it better. The likes of Honda have been cutting their manufacturing facilities in Europe. German car makers are shedding tens of thousands of jobs a year. It’s expected to total 225,000 by 2035.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-15817195/Chinese-cars-overtake-Japanese-cars.html
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The good news is, the Chinese government has a long history of backing loser industries to the hilt, and their EV gambit will prove to be the latest IMO. The infrastructure just isn’t there for EVs to be a realistic consumer transport option in most countries.
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“The infrastructure just isn’t there for EVs ”
Of course it is Steve. Haven’t you seen the advert on television where two four wheel drives head off road, the auto map voice telling them that they are going the wrong way then they arrive at a small cabin, clearly “off grid” in the bush and one driver immediately plugs the electric cord into the car.
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Cord connected to a petrol generator
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You got it in one
Further proof that NRMA can also stand for “Not Really Much Assistance” when it comes to saving the planet.
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In Europe and UK the politicians aren’t going to back down.
It’ll be EVs or nothing. The resistance has resulted in high second hand ICE car prices but eventually the supply will dry up as the available cars age.
The gov. will also force the issue by making the ‘road tax’ prohibitively expensive on older ICE cars. As they have already done with cars from the mid 2000s which can cost more to tax annually than they are worth.
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$9 billion?
Those are rookie numbers.
Ford nearly quadrupled that.
https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/fords-351-billion-ev-fiasco
The auto industry as a whole has lost $114 billion on EVs. It’s like every car manufacturer in the world fell under the spell of a mass formation psychosis and completely obliterated their share price by investing billions in a product that only a small niche of consumers wanted.
https://nypost.com/2026/02/01/opinion/us-european-car-brands-have-lost-114b-on-evs-as-idiocy-abounds-in-electric-market/
The president of Audi America summed it up best …
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“for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are . . .”
‘Intellectual elite’ … I was just remembering when I once thought both those were positive things.
When elite meant competence.
And intellectual meant one valued inquiry.
Now the intellectual elite get mad when when we inquire about their competence.
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When I hear ‘Intellectual Elite’, I think a combination of ‘IYI’ (intelligent yet idiot) and Dunning-Kruger Effect. They think they are brilliant and everyone else is dumb, and they may be brilliant within their inch-wide, mile-deep specialization, but on any topic outside that specialty they are often the dumbest person in the room.
I worked for a financial planner when I was in college, and he often commented that some of his most ignorant clients when it comes to financial matters were brilliant academics, doctors, lawyers, and other high-status professionals who thought they were smarter than him and often ignored his advice. Then they complained when they over-leveraged themselves and couldn’t make their payments, or watched their stocks tank because they bet everything on penny stocks rather than diversifying their portfolio. Meanwhile, some of his sharpest clients were guys with high school diplomas who worked as tradies or truckers or ran small businesses. They had a much better understanding of risk vs reward and were far less likely to ignore his advice.
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Like all things ‘Green’ there are hidden costs and consequences that make the schemes unviable both for the manufacturers and the consumers.
If the Government is involved in a consumer market it will not last since it only exists on taxpayer subsidies subject to policy.
If there is a natural consumer demand technologies have a longevity until superseded by something new or better.
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The losses in EV’s were not covered just by manufacturer’s profits. There is a whole regulatory network that is siphoning money from ICE vehicle buyers to subsidize EV’s. It’s called
Regulatory cross-subsidization, largely driven by federal greenhouse gas emissions and CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards, forces manufacturers to sell electric vehicles (EVs) to offset the emissions and fuel consumption of their gas-powered vehicles. As of late 2023, studies suggested these regulatory credits and subsidies amounted to nearly $50,000 in support per EV over a decade.
Here is a breakdown of how gas-powered vehicle purchases have cross-subsidized EV purchases:Average Subsidy Per EV: A 2023 report indicated that regulatory credits, when combined with state and federal subsidies, suppress the retail price of an EV by an average of almost $50,000.
Regulatory Credit Value: Specifically, regulatory credits (with bonus multipliers for EVs) from federal efficiency standards and state mandates provided an average of $27,881 in benefit per EV.
Total Market Impact: The total value of subsidies and regulatory credits has been described as “tens of thousands of dollars” loss per EV sustained by manufacturers.
Mechanism of Cross-Subsidization: Automakers who do not produce enough EVs must pay penalties or purchase credits from competitors who produce only EVs (like Tesla). This cost is implicitly added to the price of conventional vehicles, meaning buyers of gas-powered cars effectively pay to support the production of EVs.
Contextual Factors Decreasing Premiums: By early 2026, the average price of a new EV fell to around $55,300, which is only about $6,500 more than the average gas vehicle, making the subsidy gap slightly smaller.Used Market: The average price of a used EV fell to over $33,000, reducing the price gap for the second-hand market.
2025/2026 Shift: With the federal tax credits for new EVs ending in late 2025, the industry faces a challenge to maintain price parity without these subsidies.
If EV’s have been getting $50K per vehicle and the market penetration for EV sales is ~8% in the US in 2025, then every ICE vehicle buyer is paying an average of $4K more for every ICE vehicle purchased.
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There is rough estimation that the windmills, solar panels, Snowy II, desalination plants, subsidies, interest on borrowings for this scam is now close to $A1Trillion. This is IN ADDITION to the known $2.2Trillion in debt run up at State and Federal government level. Honda’s failed investment of $9Billion pales into insignificance. That’s not even 1/4 of what is being wasted on Snowy II to achieve a battery which wastes nearly half the energy being invested. And that’s if the new concrete sloped pressure tunnel idea actually works and it may not. We will find out in 2032, maybe. We just lost a cool $1Billion in a Fitzroy River to Gladstone water pipe for Dr. Forrest’d Green hydrogen. He decided the same day he did not need it. Of course he could pay the money back, but no one cares to ask.
When were Australian government given carte blanche to spend our money without economic, engineering or scientific advice? Which I guess would be useless as the Universities and CSIRO are up to the necks in the scam. When it went bust, the directors of Flannery’s Hot Rocks ripoff which took $93 million of government money were on $400K a year and mostly Adelaide University people.
And where is all the 35% CO2 hidden tax on industry including aircraft, trucking, shipping going? It is not even mentioned in the budget or the budget replies. (Safeguard Mechanism Act 2023)
The CO2 hoax has no basis in science. And it never did. And it is driving all these ripoffs, things which never work because they were wrong in the first place. And the cash just disappears.
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For some reason australiandebtclock.com has disappeared. It gave a pseudo real time redout of combined federal, state and local government debt which was $2.3+ trillion last time I saw it before it disappeared.
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DEBTCLOCK.AU ?
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No. That’s a different Liberal Party run one and only refers to Federal debt.
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Works
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The Liberal Party one doesn’t give state and local government debt like australiandebtclock.com did.
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Try:
https://australiadebtclock.com/ not: australiaNdebtclock
https://debtclock.io/australia
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Those don’t give state and local government debt like australiandebtclock.com did.
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The point being made beyond this public Federal 1 million million $ debt is that
1. State debt is closer to another $1Trillion $200Billion each for Victoria, NSW, Queensland.
2. A huge amount of Federal debt is off budget as if it was investment and hidden inside statutory legal vehicles, Snowy II, NBN, 5 desalination plants (only 2 used),transmission lines and more are not shown as government debt. On paper they are all supposedly valuable assets which will yield a return. By taxing Australians for their use. Like our freeways.
3. there is a vast amount of illegal and hidden taxation which does not go into General Revenus, which means it is legally imposed blatant theft. This is a trick invented in Australia and copied in the UK with green ‘coupons’ which can be traded and for which cash to third parties must be made. Or you are punished by the Government. This has been illegal since Magna Carta. And these rivers of money do NOT go to reducing the debt. They go to private individuals, bankers, overseas, money which should be used to pay debts. All hidden as Green.
and while this clock shows the debt as per person, that includes children, aborigines, families on social security, immigrants. The debt per family might be closer to $250,000 and the real debt closer to $500,000. Plus interest which has just doubled.
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The registration has expired.
Doesn’t matter as ze blob can never pay off the debt anyway, so all you’re doing is watching a counter climb continuously..
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The Snowy 2 contract was re-worked from fixed to cost plus guaranteed margin. Once that happened, the unions imposed 300K salaries and the cost blowout went into overdrive. IMO – This is rorting on a grand scale and the inflated union fees flow directly back to the ALP. The private company doesn’t complain because it has a guaranteed margin and no longer cares about costs. The only loser is the taxpayer, having to pay back the massive debt and endure higher energy costs indefinitely.
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Contract reworked after May 2022 when Albanese Labor Government was elected, Bowen Minister for Energy and Gallagher Minister for Finance, Chalmers Treasurer.
The Snowy 2.0 Project works commenced 2019 and the first services tunnel completed October 2022.
Note also that Albanese Labor closed the ABCC – Australian Building Construction Commission government watchdog that had prosecuted unions several times earlier. The Coalition established ABCC for the second time after Labor closed it previously.
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TDF the answer is has been their all the time:
Read “https://www.amazon.com/Greed-Gold-Glory-Martin-Erdmann/dp/B0GKL14V1R”
This will answer all you questions!
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Meanwhile, Toyota got it right.
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Toyota has been building hybrid vehicles for 29 years.
The company launched the Prius in 1997, marking the introduction of the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger car. Since then, Toyota has expanded its hybrid technology across a wide range of models, including the Camry, RAV4, and Highlander.
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Governments should never pick winners and Aussie Labor govts have always been a disaster. Honda once had good ICE cars that were known for their quality and good resale value, yet this EV lunacy has been a very costly, clueless fork in the road.
When will these companies wake up?
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Government legislation and support goes a long way to distract from common sense. If Governments think they know better and don’t consider the arguments of industry experts you get a distortion in the evolution of technology and false demand in the market.
Blame Governments and not industry.
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There is a lot of waking up to do in many areas. The last couple of decades of climate gaslighting has made decision making quite delusional. DEI just poured fuel onto that fire.
It does appear to be steadily unravelling now, however that which has taken 20 years to screw up , will take longer to rebuild. As the left well know, its very easy to destroy.
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There a plenty of older Honda HRVs and other models around with 300- 400,000 km and still going on the original motors / drivetrains.
Honda motorcycles of 80-90s vintage are renowned for their great engineering and robust engines.
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A friend purchased for children one a Honda Civic and the other a Volkswagen Golf, children’s choices. He told me that the VW had been expensive to run compared to the Honda.
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the tragedy is that tax take will also fall significantly so we are all party to this madness
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That can’t be right, big biz are leaches on society.
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“Fall”:
More of a calculated “pike with a triple” in anticipation.
And, all of the “spillage” that splashed out during that “swan-dive”?
Where did it go?
I suspect a LOT of “creative accounting’ has been going on for quite some time.
A billion here and a billion there and, pretty soon you are talking about the sort of money that buys a LOT of “influence”.
But, would that ever happen, here in the “Penal Colonies”?
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Honda made a loss because their EVS were more expensive, the batteries were smaller, and the technology was more primitive than their competitors. Japanese manufacturers are not innovative as they used to be. EVs are a lower priority in Japan, because they have a shortage of electrical generation since the nuclear power plants shut down after Fukushima. South Korea and China are further ahead in technology. If you are concerned about the ethics of the Chinese supply chain, get a Hyundai or Kia.
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Meanwhile China continues to build more coal and gas fired generators and nuclear as well.
Renewables as they call them leftists claim China is increasing renewable energy but fail to acknowledge most of that generator capacity is hydro electric power stations river dam schemes based.
The wind and solar contribution is of course typical Installed Capacity for wind as one example 30-35% Capacity Factor rating by our AEMO of Installed Capacity and therefore when here Minister Bowen recently said that 50% renewables is now installed he failed to mention Snowy Hydro Electric Scheme power stations and a couple of other hydro power stations elsewhere, and around 20% of installed is hydro, and that the 30% wind and solar is more like UP TO 10-11% of total installed capacity available here.
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Mr. Simon: So delighted to hear the explanation from the EV fans, even as you mourn! So a vastly successful car maker suddenly loses money because it can’t make a car as good as China and Korea. Japan electric generation explains it, I just knew Honda’s success was pure luck, all that oil in Japan waiting for a product to burn it for the last fifty years or so. Thanks for letting us know you really don’t know.
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Honda isn’t alone having drunk the BEV cool-aide. They will survive BUT they will need to get their mojo back. Give the market something like the Integra again and the buyers will return.
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So nobody really cares….about the war….about a month or two away …or just next july 2027. Stock food now.
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As I have done recently I asked grok to review and critique this article and the comments. It came back with stuff worthy of an zealous EV advocate. What follows is my follow up Q and the somewhat verbose A response from grok.
In my view this highlights a fundamental flaw with grok. Way too often it spouts the party line and will then say the opposite if you want. And after it backs off I am inevitably left with the question of why it didn’t say that in the first place.
I think we all know the answer to that question. It would once have been called GIGO.
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Q: Interesting. When you say “a well-known skeptic blog run by Joanne Nova” it reads like a slur. We do both realise that science is essentially a skeptical activity don’t we?
A: Fair point.
I didn’t intend it as a slur — it was meant as a straightforward descriptor of the site’s focus and reputation. Joanne Nova’s blog is explicitly positioned as challenging the dominant narrative on climate change, energy policy, EVs, and related topics. In climate discourse, “skeptic” (or “climate skeptic”) has become the conventional shorthand for that stance, even if the term is sometimes weaponized.
You’re right that skepticism is the core of science. Real science isn’t about consensus or authority; it’s about doubt, falsification, rigorous evidence, replication, and updating views when data demands it. Questioning expensive, disruptive policies built on long-term model projections — especially when those projections have had mixed success historically — is a legitimate skeptical activity, not anti-science. Blind acceptance of sweeping claims, suppression of dissenting data, or “follow the science” as a slogan while ignoring uncertainties is anti-scientific.
That said, the label “skeptic blog” does carry baggage in much of the media and academic environment, where it’s often used to imply fringe denial rather than healthy scrutiny. Many readers interpret it that way, which is why your observation matters. A more neutral phrasing could be “a blog known for critiquing climate and net-zero policies” or “a prominent site examining failures in green energy transitions.”
I appreciate the pushback — it keeps descriptions precise. JoNova’s post in this case highlighted a genuine corporate setback with real policy implications, and the core facts hold up regardless of the site’s editorial slant.
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The article you quoted says “2040”.
Free proof reading. You’re welcome. Keep up the good work. 🙂
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