Honda said it will reduce its planned EV investments by $21 billion, claiming that it’s doing so due to a slowdown in EV sales which isn’t actually happening.

Instead, it will focus on hybrids, which get 100% of their energy from fossil fuels, and which cause climate change and poison the air you breathe.

Honda’s announcement came earlier today in Japan, stating that it will scrap its plan for EVs to be 30% of its global vehicle sales by 2030, citing a “slowdown in the expansion of the EV market due to several factors, including changes in environmental regulations.” It will reduce planned investment from 10 trillion yen ($69 billion) to 7 trillion ($48 billion).

However, as we have pointed out many times here at Electrek, EV sales have not fallen, cooled, slowed or slumped. In fact, last year, in 2024, EV sales grew more than they did in 2023. Meanwhile, global gas car sales hit their peak in 2017, and have been trending down since.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Honda didn’t precisely state its new timeline, but said that EVs would fall below the previously-announced target of 30% by 2030.

It instead said it would focus on hybrids, which get 100% of their energy from fossil fuels, and thus pollute the air you breathe and cause climate change with every stroke of their outdated, inefficient engines.

(*Note: Honda’s chart says “HEV,” not “PHEV” – it’s possible they’re including plug-ins here, and thus some of these vehicles will get some of their energy from something other than fossil fuels, but HEV typically means conventional hybrids which get all of their energy from gas)

Honda said that these gas-guzzling hybrids will “be introduced to market in 2027 onward,” which means they will continue driving on roads and polluting the Earth for decades, including after Honda’s 2050 carbon-neutrality target.

Honda’s previous plan for 30% by 2030 was already quite low compared to other global automakers, even after many of these companies have walked back their EV plans. Most of these other companies also cited the nonexistent slowdown in EV sales.

Honda said that its future hybrid models will “play a key role during the transition period toward the popularization of EVs.” In some of the world’s more profitable countries for auto sales, EVs are already at or nearing majority market share.

Electrek’s Take

It’s estimated that this year – not 2030 – 25% of cars sold globally will be EVs. So, any company that sells less than that is lagging behind the curve, losing ground to companies that are ready for the transition that is already happening. When you are behind, the way to catch up is to speed up, not to slow down.

This 25% EV sales projection shouldn’t be a surprise, because EV sales have been rising globally for many years now, and haven’t stopped doing so, as we keep having to point out. In fact, the opposite is happening.

Honda also mentioned changes in environmental regulations, stating that these regulations were “the premise for the widespread adoption of EVs.” In the same statement, it mentioned its “ambitious goal to ‘achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities’” – so I guess the mention of regulations as the actual premise means all that carbon neutrality stuff was just greenwashing, after all.

But as for regulations, currently, US regulations target ~50% market share for EVs by 2030, and California targets 68%. 30% is a far cry from either of these, so one would think that Honda should increase that number, not lower it.

Further, those regulations are likely not changing nearly enough to make up for Honda’s change in strategy here. Despite the protests of a former reality TV host and convicted felon (who is Constitutionally barred from holding office in the US, by the way), it is unlikely that already-filed regulations, which cover the period from 2027-2032, will be changed.

But the US isn’t the world – maybe Honda was talking about other major markets?

Well, Europe isn’t changing its regulations, either – the bloc recently said it will give automakers “breathing room”, allowing them to use the average of their emissions from 2025-2027 to comply with new emissions regulations, but this will still require a steeper ramp-up by the end of that period if automakers are not in compliance today. In other words, those regulations have not been softened on a 2030 timeline, only on a 2025 one.

And in China, well, new regulations went into effect a couple years ago, but they almost didn’t need to, because ICE cars are virtually unsellable there these days. EV adoption is rising incredibly rapidly in China, driven by local brands which Chinese customers trust more, and which have more nifty features than the models global automakers are offering there.

In fact, Honda’s profit is slipping precisely because of the rapid advancement of the Chinese auto market. AP reports that Honda’s Q1 profits slipped by 24.5%, driven largely by sliding sales in China in the face of local EV competition. How’s that for “slowing demand.”

Honda does sell one EV in the US market, the Prologue, which is selling like gangbusters. It’s the fifth-best-selling EV in the country, and was a large part of what drove US EV sales into growth in April. It’s also Honda’s fastest-growing model – though, to be fair, that does count from a very low baseline, as the model was only trickling out onto the market a year ago.

So, there seems to be no real justification for Honda’s change in strategy here. Unless they seem to enjoy that China is now beating Japan in terms of auto exports, and are excited to see Japan lose 14% of GDP and millions of jobs by stalling on EVs.

I guess if you want to go out of business and bring your country and the planet down with you, this is the way to do it.

To reduce your carbon footprint and live more sustainably, consider going solar. EnergySage is a free service that connects you with trusted, reputable installers in your area – without having to give up your phone number until you select an installer. Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way through EnergySage. Get started today! – ad*

Chinese electric scooter manufacturer NIU Technologies (NASDAQ: NIU) is experiencing a remarkable surge in 2025, with its stock price nearly doubling year-to-date. This impressive performance is fueled by a significant increase in electric moped sales, particularly within its domestic market, despite facing challenges such as international tariffs and rising freight costs.

Domestic market is driving growth

In the first quarter of 2025, NIU reported a 57.4% year-over-year increase in e-scooter sales, totaling 203,313 units. Notably, 183,065 of these units were sold in China, marking a 66.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

This domestic growth was boosted by China’s consumer trade-in program, which incentivizes the replacement of older scooters with newer, more efficient models.

The company’s revenue for Q1 2025 reached RMB 682.0 million (approximately US $94 million), a 35.1% increase from the previous year. However, the average revenue per e-scooter decreased by 14.2% to RMB 3,354, indicating a shift towards more affordable models.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

NIU CEO Yan Li explained: “In China, we are advancing our intelligent product development strategy by integrating automotive-grade technologies such as millimeter-wave radar, dual-channel ABS, and AI Smart Ecosystem to enhance the user experience. Our retail network has continued to expand in-line with our expectations, with new stores opening during the quarter. This synergistic combination of product innovation and omni-channel growth is driving measurable increases in domestic sales and market penetration.”

International challenges remain

While domestic sales certainly provided strong tailwinds for NIU, international markets still present challenges for the company. Sales outside China grew by a modest 6.4%, totaling 20,248 units. Factors such as US tariffs and increased freight costs were noted in NIU’s Q1 2025 earnings report as impacting international margins. Despite these hurdles, international sales contributed RMB 60 million (approximately US $8 million) to the quarterly revenue, a 22.4% increase year-over-year.

NIU’s gross margin declined to 17.3% from 18.9% in the same quarter last year, reflecting the pressure from international trade policies and logistics costs. Nevertheless, the company’s net loss narrowed to RMB 38.8 million, down from RMB 54.8 million in Q1 2024, indicating improved operational efficiency. While still operating at a net loss of around US 5.4 million, these numbers indicate a strong turnaround for the company – reflected by the nearly doubling of NIU’s stock price so far in 2025.

Looking ahead, NIU is anticipating continued growth and projecting Q2 2025 revenue to increase by 40% to 50% year-over-year. The company says it is also exploring strategies to mitigate international challenges, such as diversifying its production and focusing on markets less affected by tariffs.

As Li continued, “Globally, the market is undergoing structural shifts, with US trade policies experiencing increased volatility. However, we are leveraging innovation and agile infrastructure to mitigate geopolitical challenges, enabling sustainable global growth through proactive production adjustments.”

Electrek’s Take

If you’re a NIU fan like I am, this is great news that helps claw back some of the losses seen in the last couple of years. The entire micromobility sector has navigated choppy waters after the pandemic bubble burst, and NIU was certainly not immune to the drop in sales. But these numbers paint a promising return that industry analysts and scooter riders who depend on the company alike have been hoping for.

I visited NIU’s factory a few months ago and saw firsthand how much care and precision goes into building its millions of electric two-wheelers. That kind of in-depth look is rare in this industry, and it gave me keen insight into what separates NIU’s high-tech and high-design models from much of the industry.

Now it seems that sales are starting to catch back up to where such innovative pieces of tech deserve to be. Here’s to hoping for another good quarter to follow.

On today’s sunny side up episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at the latest from the world of solar power, and discuss Congressional Republicans’ plans to limit your energy independence by eliminating a critical tax credit for homeowners nearly ten years early. (!)

We’ve also got a quick review of a massive solar farm powering 200,000 homes in Indiana and the biggest solar project East of the Mississippi – both part of a record 98% of all new power generation and grid capacity introduced in 2025 coming from wind and solar. Those are jobs, those are lower utility rates, those are energy independence … so why are Congressional Republicans working to make that more expensive?

Source Links

If you want to read that EnergySage report on the state of the home solar industry, including news about battery energy storage system and V2H/V2G prices and financing trends, you can check it out for yourself, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

---

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.