Honda is killing three of its electric models that it has previously planned to build and sell in the United States, in the latest sign of the automobile industry’s retreat on EVs as customer demand and federal support for the technology recede.
The Japanese automaker said in a statement “the decision was made as part of the reassessment of the company’s automobile electrification strategy due to various factors including recent changes in the business environment.”
Honda said the profitability of its auto business “is currently declining due primarily to 1) the unfavorable impact of changes in U.S. tariff policies on the gasoline and hybrid vehicle business and 2) a decline in the competitiveness of Honda products in Asia due to the impact of the allocation of more resources to EV development.”
The news comes as U.S. EV sales fell in 2025 amid disappearing federal tax credits for plug-in models and tariffs imposed on imported cars and parts. But there has been in uptick in consideration of used electric vehicles as drivers are reeling from mounting new car and gas prices.
With that in mind, the USA TODAY Cars team took a look at why Honda is pulling the plug on several of its EV models.
Why is Honda killing its EVs?
Honda’s previous forays into electrification haven’t gone well.
The company unveiled its new Prelude hybrid-electric car to great fanfare in the fall of 2025, but the initial sales for the model were lackluster.
The Japanese automaker reported sales of just 174 Preludes in its first full month, compared to 7,323 sales of its Civic hybrid and 6,407 of its Accord hybrid sedans. The December transactions follow sales of just 30 Preludes in November after its initial launch.
Honda spokesman Andrew Quillin defended the Prelude’s initial sales, saying in a statement provided to USA TODAY that the company is “happy to see Prelude already meeting our sales expectations even with only 40% of our dealer’s receiving one.”
The sluggish Prelude sales came as overall EV sales were declining.
Carmakers sold 1,275,714 electric cars in 2025, which was good enough to compose nearly 8% of overall U.S. auto sales for the year, according to Cox Automotive. But the industry-wide EV sales number was also down 2% from the 1,301,441 electric cars that auto manufacturers sold in 2024.
Honda said its March 12 statement it “pursued EV adoption with strong determination that striving for carbon neutrality is a responsibility Honda, as a manufacture of mobility products, must fulfill for the future.” The company added “in the U.S., the expansion of the EV market has slowed down due to several factors including the easing of fossil fuel regulations and revisions to EV incentives.”
What are some other automakers who are killing EVs?
Ford has announced plans to transition its F-150 Lightning pickup from a fully electric car to a type of hybrid car known as an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV).
Lamborghini has also it is abandoning plans to develop fully electric cars by the end of the decade in favor of building more hybrids.
The Italian automaker, which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen, confirmed to USA TODAY that it is no longer following its plan to build battery electric cars by 2030 because of weakening demand in the U.S.
Tesla is planning to end production of its Model S luxury electric sedan and Model X luxury electric SUV in the spring in favor of plan to build robots, the company’s CEO Elon Musk told investors on Tesla’s January 2026 earnings call.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Honda is pulling the plug on three planned US-built EVs. Here’s why.
Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
