Honda reported what is essentially the company’s first loss. This comes after Honda took billions of dollars in losses as a result of an ill-fated attempt to quickly become an all-electric company. In addition to announcing a loss, Honda’s leadership outlined a plan to course-correct that involves a lot more hybrids and an extra decade before it transitions to carbon neutrality.
Unlike Honda, Jaguar seems to be sticking to its EV plan, and now we have a name for its flagship electric super sedan. Many details of this new Jag haven’t been revealed, though the assumption is that it’ll be quite expensive. The Morning Dump is always interested in what auto lending is like, as that’s a great indicator of the relationship between the auto industry, buyers, and the economy at large. In April, things were typically mixed.
That’s all heavy for a Thursday, so I will end the morning with another charming Renault concept.
15 New Hybrids Are Coming, Mostly In North America
For those of playing along at home, last week a Japanese outlet reported that Honda was going to report a $2.5 billion loss, to which Honda responded “We haven’t confirmed that.” It made me wonder if the number was going to be significantly different from that reported estimate. This morning, Honda reported a $2.7 billion loss for FY2026, which ended in March.
That’s not great, though props to Nikkei Asia for getting it basically right. The company has never lost money in the entire time it’s been a public entity, going back 69 years. The blame has been put on the company’s lofty goal of selling only electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040, which involved a huge investment in electric vehicle production in the United States. That goal is now reset to 2050.
Many people are upset that Honda canceled all of its electric cars, and there’s probably going to be some point in the future where that looks like an overreaction. It’s not. The EVs that Honda was developing were not the right ones for the market. They wouldn’t have sold well. Even if the IRA had been left in place I don’t think they would have worked.
How’d we get here?
There’s a rough quote in Bloomberg this morning that explains some of it:
“The management group there has been shielded too long by a super profitable motorcycle business that allows them to push problems with the automotive business under the rug,” said Christopher Richter, a senior analyst at CLSA Securities Japan. “The motorcycle business has become a crutch for Honda that prevents them from taking a serious look at their automotive business.”
Almost one in three motorcycles sold globally carries the Honda badge. The unit generates a majority of the company’s operating profit despite accounting for less than a fifth of sales. In India, one of the world’s fastest growing motorcycle markets, Honda expects annual production to reach 8 million units in 2028, up from 6.25 million in 2026.
I don’t think that’s wrong. Honda has the best-selling hybrid in the United States, but it should offer way more hybrids, which is what Toyota is doing. A more thoughtful and realistic Honda could have balanced hybrid development with continued work on EVs, though Honda doesn’t have the resources that Toyota has at its disposal, so it can’t afford to do everything simultaneously.
Honda isn’t entirely alone here, of course, as most major automakers have taken huge hits on their EV plans. The difference is that Honda was too late, and doesn’t have a lot of high margin trucks and SUVs to fall back on for profits. In order to reach new heights of income, Honda’s plan is to make a lot more hybrids.
Starting in 2027, Honda will begin launching its next-generation hybrid models featuring both an all-new hybrid system and platform. Honda is planning to launch 15 next-generation hybrid models globally by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2030, primarily in North America, which is one of the priority regions. In North America, in 2029, Honda will launch large-size hybrid models, in the D-segment or above.
For Acura dealers, the new Acura hybrid is better-late-than-never. The extension of many of its core products isn’t great, but Honda doesn’t have much of a choice. Even working at breakneck speed, it takes more than six months to develop new powertrains.
Jaguar’s New Flagship EV Is The Type 01
The way Jaguar’s media site works is that you download a giant ZIP file, and get a 27 mb version of the above image with a wordmark and a 27 mb version of it without, as well as a 6 mb MPEG movie of the reveal.
That’s a lot of pixels to say that the controversial Jaguar Type 00 concept will be called the Type 01. What does Type 01 stand for?
In Jaguar Type 01, the ‘0’ represents electric propulsion and zero tailpipe emissions; ‘1’ denotes its status as the first Jaguar of a new era. Designed, developed and built in the heart of the UK.
The ‘Type’ designation unites the brand’s history of innovation in design, technology and performance with the most advanced Jaguar ever. The first of its type, with unmistakable presence achieved through an innovative new body architecture. Tri‑motor technology delivers more than 1,000PS and over 1,300Nm of torque.
‘Type’ naming first appeared on the Le Mans race‑winning C‑type of 1951. On the road, it came to represent two characters in one car: an engaging drive with deep reserves of power, plus refinement and composure. The E‑type and the more recent F‑TYPE are exemplars.
Ah, that explains it.
Credit Availability Slightly Improved In April, While Terms Got Longer
The chart above shows the Dealertrack Credit Availability Index, which looks at all auto loans for a month and offers a single number to indicate how much credit is available in the market. There are a lot of factors that go into consumer credit, including how hard it is to get approved, how many subprime loans are being given out, loan terms, and yield spreads. With a baseline of 100, anything a lot higher or a lot lower indicates a loose or tight credit market, respectively.
You can see the initial concern of the pandemic, followed by lower interest rates (and probably overly loose lending standards) that sent credit availability to a high level of 2022. The resulting inflation and increased rates inverted credit availability, and we’ve been slowly marching back. Some of this change is the narrowing of yield spreads and generally more favorable rate environment.
Some of it, though, is longer loan terms, which, as Cox Automotive points out, is not great:
For consumers who financed in April, this represented a tangible improvement in borrowing cost. However, the broader picture carries important cautions. Loan terms reached a new all-time high of 29.7% with terms greater than 72 months, meaning more consumers are extending repayment to 6 or more years to manage monthly payments. Combined with negative equity that remains nearly 540 bps above year-ago levels, consumers face compounding financial risk that can be difficult to unwind, and should carefully consider the full terms of any financing offer, particularly total loan length and overall cost.
This all works so long as it all works.
Renault’s Journée à la Plage
One of the perks of writing TMD is that I can justify adding a post about a car we’d otherwise probably not cover. For instance, this is the second post on a variant of the Renault 4 (the other being the Roland-Garros edition). This one is the JP4x4 Concept and it’s meant for going to the beach.
Renault 4 JP4x4 Concept makes its debut on 18 May on the Renault stand at the 2026 Roland-Garros French Open. A fresh take on the Plein Air (1969) and JP4 (1981) versions of the original Renault 4, it reboots the ‘leisure’ styling of these vehicles with its playful, upbeat design. It also adds a touch of adventure with its four-wheel drive system.
Although the name is a direct tribute to the original JP4, it could also stand for “journée à la plage” (a day at the beach) with Renault 4. Renault 4 JP4x4 Concept is every inch a chic and modern beach car in terms of both its physical features and the equipment designed for sport and leisure.
Dang, now I need to import an original JP4.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I don’t listen to a lot of dark, hard metal. It’s not normally my thing, although I get the appeal. The Jaguar post today made me really want to figure out some sort of Type 0- joke, but it didn’t quite work. Instead, enjoy Type O Negative with “I Don’t Wanna Be Me.”
The Big Question
You can import any French car of any French era for a weekend car. What are you getting?
Top photo: Honda
TBQ:
Citroen C3 WRC? For a relatively recent WRC car it looks fantastic and while it’s way too fast for me you did specify weekend…
TBQ: The French are arguably the best at making fun to drive hot hatches, my personal favorite class of car, and there are many great choices. Right now, I am heavily leaning towards a Renault Clio 2 RS Trophy, but maybe a Clio V6, Megane RS 26.R, Peugeot 205 GTi, 206 GTI, or even a Citroen AX GT would suffice.
Peugeot hot hatch of some variety, probably. 206 GTi was a fun one in Need For Speed: Underground, so I have a (probably undeserved) soft spot for that one. I have a 10-speed Peugeot bicycle, but I’ve never owned one of their cars.
I think Honda has dropped ball pretty badly in European market. Apart from CR-V (which is selling way less than superior Rav4), I don’t think they have much to serve families. Accord & Civic wagons were very popular here in Nordics with healthy market share. These days apart from occasional CR-V or HR-V, new Hondas are _very_ rare.
Reasonably priced PHEV and regular hybrid wagons (Accord with AWD) and surely they would glaw that back.
Had, to check they currently have less than 0.5% marketshare in Europe. Damn they have dropped low.
deleted
Honda’s hybrid strategy feels like it is finally getting started. So far, we have the CR-V, the Civic, the Accord, and the Prelude. Hybrid Odyssey, Pilot, and Ridgeline should have been available years ago. And the HR-V and Passport would probably sell well as hybrids, also. I’d love to see PHEV options available on most models, too. I’d buy a PHEV Ridgeline. Given the number of people I’ve heard wishing they could get the PHEV Ranger, I think it would carve out a nice little market niche.
Hybrid HRV should be a fairly simple task for Honda as it shares the architecture with the Civic. The odyssey, Pilot, Passport, Ridgeline all share the “Truck” architecture as Honda calls it, which desperately needs the Hybrid set up. While my wife loves her Pilot, the 15-17mpg we average in it is crazy bad for a “modern” but gutless V6 and 10 speed automatic.
Yeah, it’s kind of wild to try to hybridize from the already fuel-efficient small vehicles up. The gains are much more noticeable on inefficient vehicles.
Iirc there is an HRV hybrid overseas, we just don’t get it in North America.
The big question.
Production vehicle: Matra Rancho
Concept: Espace F1
Why are Honda and Toyota so against plug-in hybrids? The Volt proved years ago that a well-designed PHEV system could be fun to drive with all the “punch it!” zip of a big electric motor, enough energy to drive electric most days, and easy gasoline refueling for those few road trips.
Signed,
A Highlander Hybrid owner
Cost and poor sales – (Likely related)
Toyota could build a pretty slick PHEV Tacoma/4Runner/Land Cruiser. Would love to see that. A Prius Prime is great, but not applicable.
The problem is price.
Looking at the Prius the PHEV is $5,225 more expensive than a regular Prius. It is next to impossible to break even on that extra upfront cost on fuel savings. Even at today’s elevated fuel prices it is a 26 year payback
The RAV4 PHEV is $5,955 more which is a 12 year payback.
They made complete sense when the Feds were kicking in $7500 to buy / lease one but not today.
Just like some pay for the upcharge for a Cummins over a Hemi, I’d pay more for a strong PHEV 4WD with all kinds of instant electric torque… like the Volt had.
Some will but so far not many. PHEVs have been mostly a regulatory solution to allow automakers to continue to sell ICE vehicles.
PHEVs are slow sellers in both the USA and EU and massively outsold by EVs and regular hybrids. I think part of that is because regular hybrids have been steadily increasing their electric motors to give that instant torque you (and I) like.
It will be interesting if the plug-in series hybrids changes the math.
The Volt was a great car for buyers – that lost GM a lot of money.
I think I see Prius Primes every day??
Thinking of a Tacoma/4Runner/Land Cruiser PHEV.
So definitely not the stupidly quick Rav4 Prime then.
About 18% of Hondas are sold in Japan and another 33% are sold in North America. Both regions are ones where EV adoption has slowed down some. So it only makes sense when half of your products go to markets that seem to be favoring hybrids that you switch gears and emphasize your hybrid game.
In 5 years can they revise the current 2050 date? Of course. But for the time being, burning gasoline with some electrification is the answer for most Japanese and American brands.
So where are the other 49% sold?
Good question. I’d guess South/Central America and the rest of Asia. They’ve really pulled back from Europe, so it ain’t there.
That’s only the case because Honda bled market share everywhere else. They were a player in Europe and now just a footnote.
Completely cancelling any and all EVs will only accelerate the concentration on Japan/US – and they will be way behind by the time those markets electrify as well.
“Honda has the best-selling hybrid in the United States”
Matt, where are you getting this and what time period is covered?
The hybrid-only Camry sold 317,000 in the US last year to the CR-Vs 403,000. The CRV would have to be 80% hybrid to eclipse it. Not impossible, but likely a short-lived and thin margin if true.
(le sigh) Just give me a brown, diesel, manual wagon, merci.
I saw diesel at $6.89/gallon today. Good. Lord.
Mon dieu! Sacre bleu! Merde!
TBQ- Peugeot 205 Rallye, easy choice. My shitbox dream car
The Japanese OEMs obsession with the fuel cells puzzles me. Battery tech and price is gone way past what fuel cells could offer. They have 150 stations that’s not much to show for doing it for 20 years. For marine applications they have their uses but also there are other more reliable power plants. Hyundai appears to put them in cars more as a research tool for other applications that’s understandable. They still don’t last very long before something happens and the fuel cell replacement costs several times more then the car cost new.
Honda is releasing a sort of universal battery swap battery for power sport and power equipment. So maybe learn there like they did with ice motorcycles. Plus still doing bev with their Chinese jv. The gm ev approach is shoving as many batteries in something as you possibly can doesn’t really fit what Honda did with combustion. They are probably looking for more elegant solutions.
I almost bought a French army Renault truck many years ago. I think the alpine a110 is a realistic French weekend car or the a108 for something sort of funny fun.
The cars are a test bed for other applications. Marine, HD truck, AG, Construction, Airplanes…
TBQ: I like older French cars, such as:
– Simca 1200s
– Matra Djet
– Matra 530
– Matra Bagheera
– Renault 8 Gordini
I probably could not fit in any of them, but I would try lose weight if I could ever get my hands on any of them.
As for Jaguar’s new marketing vibe, I think it’s further proof they don’t know what the hell they are doing anymore.
I was also trying to think of a Type O Negative connection…nice shout out!
Truth be told, that’s actually Type O Negative’s most upbeat album, all things considered.
Twenty…FIFTY???!!! It is impossible to extrapolate how the world will be in 5 years, let alone 24. It might look like the EV transition is going to take far longer than anticipated, but if solid state batteries live up to their potential, Honda are setting themselves up to be left behind.
In keeping with the C-Type and E-Type, shouldn’t they name it the I-Type, “I” of course being the Roman numeral for one?
Either of the following Citroens – a DS Decapotable (the Chapron produced convertible) or an extremely rare GS Birotor just because it’s equal parts Citroen and Wankel weirdness.
Bonus – Saw Type-O Negative open up for Queensryche in the mid ’90s during their Promised Land tour at the then named Sony E-Center in Camden, NJ.
You can import any French car of any French era for a weekend car. What are you getting?
Diesel 505 sedan. Preferably grey.
I am fairly certain they sold these here so I wouldn’t even need to import one. I’m assuming it is easier to get a good one in France than the US, so importing one still might be the way to go.
(yeah, I know it is a weird choice for a fun weekend toy)
Make my post-lottery Monagasque weekend driver a Citroen DS21 Cabriolet by Chapron – such as the one Cary Grant ordered for and drove in “That Touch of Mink”
I’m curious what will become of legacy automakers as they continue to axe/delay their electric vehicle plans. With good EVs from China showing up in more and more places, by the time the legacy’s EVs finally do come out will they be able to catch up? Are GM and Honda going to put out an EV in 10 years that just looks like a Blackberry compared to an iPhone?
They will die.
Because that’s what happens to people and companies who cannot or refuse to adapt to new technologies.
This.
Not much is left or very British of the British motor industry. I suspect it could be like that. Still offices for design and engineering. But someone else captaining the ship. Some still exist in other less consumer facing spaces. BlackBerry did something similar went fully in their qnx division, a rtos for embedded systems ironically used frequently in the automotive space. Just like blackberry and the former many of these legacys have divisions the will soldier on in different ways probably less consumer facing if they do stop producing something the market wants.
I understand pulling back a bit on EVs in the US market. They went too fast in the first place. But the level of the see saw is just crazy. 2050?!
While nobody could have predicted this new Oil War – now is the perfect time to invest in EVs. Honda and others should be dusting off their recently shelved EV programs and putting them back into place.
But they won’t.
Yeah, one can hope they keep the R&D going in the meantime, but like you said, 2050!?
If it needs to be a French car for a weekend, I want to have the Alpine A110R.
Man, what was so naughty on that Renault’s wheels that David made you pixellate them? 😉
Curious. Are Honda executives ignoring current events? Does anyone learn from their mistakes anymore? Wash, rinse, repeat.
Discounting resale value, a Facel Vega Facel II as it would be more reliable than a Talbot Lago Teardrop coupe.