There are few global automakers that aren’t reeling from this or that crises. The French brands are fighting with Chinese ones. The Chinese brands are fighting with one another. The American brands face tariffs and a lot of competition. The German ones are, as usual, losing a war on two fronts. Even the typically solid Japanese automakers are in trouble.
The Morning Dump is often full of woe, and today is no different. It’s being reported that Honda will report its first annual loss since it was in the business of reporting those things. While Toyota is still in the black, it’s less so than expected, for some similar reasons.
Volkswagen’s harvest isn’t going much better, and now it sounds like it’s contemplating letting four of its German plants go fallow. Back here in the US, Ford is having to play catch up to build enough trucks to satiate demand, and now GM is trying to strike while it can.
Honda Releases Statement On Report That It’s Going To Lose Money, Reaffirms It Lost Money
Honda went public in 1957 and has, in the 69 years since, never reported a full-year annual loss. Even when the bubble burst in the ’90s, Honda’s strength outside of Japan was enough to carry the company through. Given its reliance on the US for profits, you might have expected a loss during the GFC, as Toyota did. Nope.
What Honda couldn’t survive, though, is the combination of higher tariffs, elevated energy prices, and outsized EV investments that didn’t result in vehicles that would be competitive in either China or the US. Honda itself outlined this a few weeks ago in a statement to investors:
Setting a goal to realize carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050, Honda has been working to reduce its environmental impact. To realize carbon neutrality for smallsize mobility products, including passenger cars, Honda believed EVs would be the optimal solution from a long-term perspective. Based on this belief, Honda shifted its strategic direction toward the popularization of EVs. Supported by its internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) business with accumulated technologies and know-how, as well as a stable profit base provided by Motorcycle business and Financial services business with a solid customer base, Honda has been promoting EV adoption. However, the profitability of Honda’s Automobile business is declining primarily due to the impact on the ICE and HEV business caused by the United States government policy shift including the imposition of import tariffs, and a decline in the competitiveness of Honda products in Asia due to the impact of the allocation of more resources to EV development.
In addition, the business environment surrounding Honda is changing dramatically day by day, and the outlook remains uncertain. The United States government policy shifts including the abolition of tax incentives for EV purchases, as well as the easing of fossil fuel regulations have slowed down the EV market. In China and other Asian countries, what customers value more in automobiles is shifting from hardware features such as fuel efficiency and cabin space to software-based features that continuously advance in line with customer preferences. This has intensified competition due to the rapid emergence of newer EV manufacturers that leverage their shorter product development cycle and strengths in the area of software-defined vehicle (SDV) technologies, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
That is a brutal and reasonable assessment of what happened. Some of this is self-inflicted. Honda could have been earlier to electrification, although that didn’t seem to help Nissan. It could have spent less on EVs trying to catch up and more on hybrids, which definitely would have helped.
Honda attributing its woes to the U.S. government and not to them building cars for which there isn’t enough demand seems like a deflection. They’re not wrong on tariffs/rebates, but those are not the biggest issues when it comes to EV sales. There are demand issues.
Any one of the above issues would have been a challenge, but all of them simultaneously is just too much. It’s a rough spot for Honda, and I’m not sure anything the company’s leadership is going to do is going to be met with a lot of excitement. If the company leaves more of its EV development to its Chinese partners, the pro-EV folks are going to be unhappy and point to it as a sign of Honda’s decline. If the company invests more in EVs, people will wonder to what end.
Either way, the company’s reversal on EVs is going to cost it. A lot. The question is not if Honda is going to report a loss for FY 2026 (which ended March 31st), but how much. Nikkei Asia thinks it knows how much:
Honda Motor recorded an operating loss of approximately 400 billion yen ($2.55 billion) for the fiscal year that ended in March, Nikkei has learned, heavily impacted by problems related to its electric vehicle business.
The operating loss would be the company’s first since going public in 1957. It posted 1.2 trillion yen in operating profit in the previous fiscal year. The company aims to generate profit at the operating level for the current fiscal year ending March 2027, boosted by strong performance in its motorcycle segment.
The size of Honda’s operating loss would be the second largest among Japanese automakers, after Toyota Motor’s 461 billion yen for the fiscal year that ended in March of 2009 during the global financial crisis, although a simple comparison is difficult due to differences in accounting standards.
What’s interesting is that Honda put out a statement basically saying “we didn’t say that” while also reaffirming the previous guidance:
It was reported in the Nikkei online edition on May 8, 2026, that Honda’s consolidated operating loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 would be approximately in the range of 400.0 billion yen. However, our company has not made any announcement concerning this matter. Honda’s consolidated operating loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 is expected to fall within the range of the full-year consolidated earnings forecast announced on March 12, 2026, due to factors such as losses associated with the reassessment of automobile electrification strategy.
It’s an odd response, because the 400 billion yen estimate is at the lower end of Honda’s estimate of 340 to 570 billion yen. If Honda came in at 340, it seems logical that Honda wouldn’t say anything and beat the reported estimate. If it’s a greater loss, well, maybe you’d say something.
All will be known by this time next week.
Toyota Made A Profit, Just A Smaller One Because Of The War In Iran
Toyota has played it about as well as you could these last few years, given all the geopolitical disruptions (which is to say, charitably, a current administration in the US that prioritizes chaos over coherence). It still sucks for the company, though, which has been hit especially hard from the War in Iran.
The stock reversed gains and fell as much as 3.5% on Friday after the Japanese company issued an outlook for ¥3 trillion ($19.1 billion) in operating income for the fiscal year ending March 2027. That was far short of the average consensus estimate for ¥4.6 trillion, as well as ¥3.8 trillion posted in the prior period.
Toyota’s outlook shows how geopolitical shocks are hitting even the industry’s most profitable automaker, threatening margins through higher material, shipping and tariff costs. Suppliers warned last week that they are beginning to see shortages due to the Iran conflict, now in its third month, as Toyota said it would be difficult to offset the resulting ¥670 billion hit to its bottom line from the regional turmoil.
There’s a sense in the article from at least one analyst that Toyota is lowballing its guidance, but if the Iran conflict/war/sideshow doesn’t end quickly they may not be.
Volkswagen Is Reportedly Planning To Let Four German Plants Go
It’s clear that the historical way of doing business at Volkswagen just doesn’t work anymore, and a key complication is how much production is in Germany. The company already made it clear that the historical agreement to not close plants in its home country is no longer in force. Now, per Manager Magazin, it sounds like there’s a rough idea of a plan for at least four German plants:
The fact that four plants are under scrutiny due to excessive costs had already been reported by the Handelsblatt newspaper. These are the VW plants in Emden, Zwickau, and Hanover, as well as the Audi production facility in Neckarsulm. Now, however, Blume and the board members who took office with him have revealed their actual plan: They intend to phase out production once the models currently manufactured there are discontinued. No more cars at all in four factories – that would be a far more drastic cut than previously suspected.
The company stated that plant closures were not discussed in the supervisory board meeting. However, participants reported that the goal of potentially phasing out the plants was presented and apparently explained in the slides shown. The company does not expect a significant increase in sales and, consequently, production figures in the coming years. The phase-out could begin in the early 2030s, according to the company.
It’s possible these plants could transition to munitions factories or, perhaps, be sold to Chinese automakers.
GM Smells Blood In The Water
Ford has said it’ll catch up on F-150 production later this year, assuming the plant where it gets most of its automotive-grade aluminum doesn’t catch on fire for a third time.
Truck buyers are generally loyal, and F-150 buyers especially so. Still, GM seems to think there’s an opening, as Automotive News reports:
General Motors wants to boost inventory of its money-making pickups on U.S. dealer lots after falling short of demand to start the year and as a production snag at rival Ford Motor Co. presents an opportunity to gain market share.
“It’s prudent to be increasing right now just because their inventory is low relative to demand,” said David Whiston, an auto analyst with Morningstar. “But if you’re GM, you want to take advantage of Ford’s weakness.”
GM ended the first quarter with 9 percent fewer pickups on U.S. dealer lots than it did a year earlier, CFO Paul Jacobson said on an April 28 call with analysts. That’s a notable decrease considering the pre-tariff sales rush GM and other automakers saw in the first quarter of 2025.
GM and Stellantis only report quarterly, so it’ll be a couple of months until we know for sure how well GM and Ram (and, maybe, Toyota) did.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I could only pick one Shania Twain song this morning. That’s hard. There are endless bangers. I do love the music video for “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” for the throwback to Robert Palmer’s video for “Addicted To Love.”
The Big Question
If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?
Top photo: Honda
“If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?”
I’m casually shopping extended cab GMT900s at the moment.
“If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?”
A 1967 Ford Ranchero with a 390 and four on the floor.
“If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?”
A recall notice in the mail!
COTD material here.
“If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?”
A therapist.
“If you’re buying a half-ton truck tomorrow, what are you getting?”
A therapist because I’d be certifiable.
Re Shania. Google Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ speech when she won the Mark Twain Award.
After an introduction where she couldn’t understand why he didn’t reply to her emails, she eventually realized he was dead.
She then offered her condolences to the Twain family, “especially the lovely Shania”.
I was on the floor.
She’s the new Lilly Tomlin. She keeps getting funnier.
If for some reason I decided a full-size pickup was the way to go, I’d go find a used Lightning. No more garage parking in that case though.
I’d have to think about out of what’s available, what configuration I’d want but I expect I’d be able to do a lot with it between swapping in a different shifter, maybe even a front bench if I really wanted to shell out extra and redo the interior. Ideally an ER Pro model + heat pump if it exists but price will probably dictate the SR pack. (Not like I tow far anyway)
If someone said it had to be new or dino-powered, probably the lowest-trim CCSB 4WD Silverado with the two-speed transfer case. But I’d have to go sit in it, etc.
I have no qualms with having “half-an-engine” other than wanting to say it has a plastic oil pan? It’s probably the least troublesome in the lineup at this point I’d guess.
Or the lowest trim PowerBoost.
Wonder how much the new passport and the botched Sony venture went toward their losses
I’m a bit conflicted. It’s always great to come here every week for a picture of adorable Helmut (I just want to pinch his cheeks!), but I know it’s just going to be about bad news for VW. :SIGH:
What I already have on order (and will enter production, be produced, and delivered by the end of the month according to the manufacturer)
Ram 1500 Crew Cab Long Bed Big Horn 3.0L Hurricane I6, 4 corner height adjustable air suspension, front bench, tow package, offroad package, etc.
What I want is a Pickup with soft suspension, seating for 6, and at least 6000lbs of towing, Ram is the only automaker currently offering that, at least on paper, and I still had to online order it because dealerships cannot order it that way, which I checked with customer service.
If RAM doesn’t come through I gotta reevaluate.
My local Ford dealer seems to be scummy after the mother of my godson went there to she could get the lower facia of her 2018 Escape police interceptor put back on, they made her wait for an hour and 45 minutes, told her she’d need a new one for $4,000, and charged her $250 just to look.
So I think Ford is out of the running.
Ram could still be an option but if I’m stuck with 5 seats I’d rather get the 1500 REV.
The Trailboss Max Range could also be an option now that the aftermarket has a bed cap for them, but towing stuff is gonna suck range wise and take a lot longer than I’d like.
IF Scout ever goes into production that could be an option too.
TBQ: technically, a half-ton is 1000lbs. Because I use my truck to do some work and towing, but mostly to commute, I’m going to go with what I went with in 2025… Maverick AWD hybrid with 4k tow package. 1400lbs payload, so it’s well over the half-ton mark.
My last fill-up was 501.1 gallons on 12.90 gallons of gas, or 38.8mpg. That included dragging a utility trailer around town for several miles, and some interstate driving.
This is the truck for this economy, at least for my use case.
Thanks President Pedo
“If I had to buy a truck tomorrow, I’d kill myself!! Hahahaha!”
Buying a truck tomorrow?
Easy answer, a 1991 Toyota.
Are the Dualies still 1/2 ton or a 3/4 ton?
If I had to buy a dualie just to have a dualie that would be what I’d get as well.
Not sure but I think the dualities are for the 3/4 ton. It’s been a long time since I owned mine though, so not sure.
Quite frankly, I’m reservedly and respectfully glad that Honda is showing a loss, though I don’t want their business itself threatened. They need a few servings of humble pie, especially given a lot of their decisions over the last few years, and riding a reputation that’s a couple decades out of date. Their gas engine vehicles have problems, the EVs are underwhelming or just rebodied gm models, their vehicles don’t particularly do anything (let alone everything) better than their competitors, and the folks who buy their vehicles do a great job of continuing to dilute the brand and to be bad brand ambassadors.
As for a brand-new half-ton truck, it’d be an F-150, and likely a blue Tremor with the V8 or a blue King Ranch PowerBoost FX4. Both with block heaters and SecuriCode keypads. Both are just under $80K MSRP. Admittedly that’s a bonkers price, but that’s the market. I’d also prefer a different color, but I’m tired of white/silver/gray/black, and KR only comes in Antimatter Blue otherwise. Tremor has “Marsh Gray” available but that looks like clearcoated primer on the website, so I’m a bit reserved about that. The green available last year was so much better. A Lightning also might be worth consideration, but I’m concerned about depreciation.
Agreed. Honda does have the potential for ingenuity, but they’ve been resting on their laurels. I’m glad they didn’t take over Nissan.
Hopefully Honda hasn’t wasted its EV R&D from the 0 Series, and can apply that knowledge to more appropriate electric vehicles with the timing is right. They also needed a hybrid Odyssey, Pilot etc out years ago.
“ …the folks who buy their vehicles do a great job of continuing to dilute the brand…”
How do people buying Honda’s vehicles dilute the Honda brand?
Context got lost in the edit for brevity. It should include a description of the variety of folks who buy them, from the younger ones who put “fart cans” and drive like jerks in traffic, the folks who put roof racks and chunky tires on their cars but never go off road, all the way to the typical CR-V customer who years ago would have been the target Mercury or Buick customer.
Leaving aside the specific GM and Honda references you could be criticizing Stellantis, Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Tesla, Volvo, and all the rest.
Realistically we are already very well served with our ‘21 F150 Lariat with the 2.7. We are averaging 9.7 L /100km. The plan is to drive this truck into the ground, as it looks great and is very comfortable. The Sync 4 infotainment with wireless CarPlay is reliable, snappy, still absolutely top shelf as far as ICE vehicle software goes.
If we had to buy a half ton tomorrow, it would be a leftover (or used) Ford Lightning, as it’s the same truck we already have and love, just electric. Tough call on trim level- It would be hard to give up ventilated leather seats, but the Lariat trim on the Lightning gets the big ugly portrait touch screen from the Mach E, which is unfortunate.
Honda royally fucked up their EV strategy. Their fancy 0 series EVs were 5 years too late, wildly out of touch from where the market was headed. They should have been developing an in-house electric CRV/ HRV, something size and cost competitive, even if that meant mediocre specs like the BZ4X.
At some point you just need to get a product to market. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you can apply the learnings to the next generation. They wasted their chance to vet their own EV engineering & design at scale, by paying to rebrand GM products. The irony is that the Honda Prologue sold better than the Chevy branded versions… Honda could have sold a reasonably priced EV no problem.
After reading up on it a bit I like the 2.7 and think it has a lot of potential, make the head and the oil pan out of the same compacted graphite iron and you’d have a very tough mill.
It’s curious how 9,7l/100km is considered ok. Here it would be apocaliptic.
Poor Asimo. (._. )
Asimo nice. I wouldn’t kick Asimo out of the shed. Or let it out either…
“The German ones are, as usual, losing a war on two fronts.”
Brutal. Funny, but brutal.
What’s even funnier to me as someone in automotive service is that ze Germans still have issues with even their newest cars performing in even Midwestern summers and winters. Must be a proud tradition they’re keeping up, even for their non-Germany-built offerings.
It’s spring time for VW! 🙂
Read it, didn’t click. Now it has though…
Especially posting that on May 8.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_in_Europe_Day
Brain scans. I have no need for a half-ton pickup and certainly don’t want to spend the money to buy and fuel one. Sudden changes in personality, behavior, and decision-making should be a significant concern.
In all seriousness, I had one for a bit, but I would actually prefer a compact pickup.
Only reason I have one on order is I got an 80lb Black Lab Lookalike and a 180lb Irish wolfhound to haul around along with a lady and a baby, and I need at least 6000lbs of towing for that lady’s horses.
I’d much rather have a Maverick Hybrid, though I wish they’d give it the Tremor treatment and either LSDs or proper lockers.
Also height adjustable air suspension would be AWESOME!
In 2021, it was an easy choice, and I bought a RAM. In 2026, I feel like the interiors of the others have caught up or exceeded the minor changes in the RAM. They are all pretty nice now though. My worry now would be the engine choices. I think the GMC interior is one of the nicest now, but I worry the most about those engines. My folks just got a King Ranch F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost, and it was pretty comfy when I drove it this weekend.
We tow our camper some long miles, so highway comfort while towing is important. I’m pretty happy with my 21 RAM 1500 for now, and the addition of a Comma 4 a few months ago has made it so I barely have to touch the wheel on long trips now, so it’s taken a lot of the stress of towing long distances. We have a 2500 mile round trip coming up in August with the camper and it will be nice to be able to just sit back and watch the road. I just crossed 40,000 miles, so I’ll be keeping this truck for many more years.
TBQ: here are the things that might force me to get a half-ton:
You forgot:
Reading ⁸the Honda blurb, I run into this:
“In China and other Asian countries, what customers value more in automobiles is shifting from hardware features such as fuel efficiency and cabin space to software-based features that continuously advance in line with customer preferences.”
Admittedly, I am an old man, with a traditional preference for “hardware features” (clutches, manuals, even the occasional distributor and carburettor setup). I would claim that in the US, the market preferences still lean heavily toward hardware features, too. (In spite of the success of Tesla, Rivian, and others).
But now I have a question: will the US market follow the Asian markets toward a more “software-based feature” preference? Or will it ever be the other way around, where folks get tired of of SW and switch to HW preferences?
This is a dumb question (since the answer is probably: “nobody knows”), but I get the feeling the transition to SW feature preferences will happen in the US market, regardless of EV adoption (which is not going well). I would also claim the traditional auto manufacturers are behind on this, which contributes to the current bad times they find themselves in.
They better get their act together on this, and soon. (Affordably, too.)
I would have to disagree considering how important CarPlay / Android Auto are most buyers. Heck even the editor of this site is looking at upgrading a car just to get CarPlay.
I would also bet that the majority of car owners can’t get these simple questions right about their car:
I know for a fact that my mother-in-law can’t get a single one of those question right on the car she bought last year.
I think that has been true since the very onset of the car by non-car enthusiasts.
The difference is that today “all cars are good” whereas in the past the “differences” were much more acute.
… and when all cars are good, and most people just want a car to take them from point A to B the focus on hardware disappears. What they care about is the touchpoints and a big part of that is the infotainment and software integration that connects their phone to the car.
Exactly. Also it’s the biggest differentiator now.
There’s a difference in hardware and hardware.
Fuel economy and cabin space? Of course they matter. The first especially relevant here in Europe.
The “other” hardware such as performance, handling and ride, well that’s far more difficult.
Back in the day those mattered because, one the limit was much lower and two the differences between good and bad cars was much greater.
But these days pretty much all cars are decent and the difference between regular cars and more expensive ones is a lot smaller.
So how do manufacturers differentiate their offerings? Software.
I have gas and diesel trucks. So I would probably buy a r1t or a Silverado ev. I think the r1t is a nicer place to be so probably that. If I had to get gas then probably a 3.6 short regular cab ram tradesman’s. Hurricane might be interesting once they figure it out but I don’t trust it yet. And I don’t want to deal with hemi tick, afm or any of the other issues plaguing all the other engines. I don’t trust the chevy 2.7 yet either. The ford 3.5 hybrid is interesting they have been in fleets for a while and seem to hold up ok if you could get it in the regular or extended cab i would consider it.
R1T has an excellent interior. It’s not a half-ton though. It’s also smaller than the F-150/1500/Tundra.
Ram’s 3.6L has issues, but it’s preferable to the 5.7L I guess.
2.7L has fewer issues than the 5.3 and 6.2 but it still has issues. Driving it you wouldn’t necessarily think it’s a turbo four, FWIW. I still wouldn’t get one.
PowerBoost is a good choice. Agreed that it’s disappointing not to have it in more cab variants.
Electric truck to ICE truck comparison doesn’t really work. R1T can tow 12.5k but is the closer to the size of taco or ranger because of smart packaging with bev. It weights quite a bit more though at almost 7k lbs. Same 1500lbs payload allotment with the GVWR in the most of your 4 door short bed 1/2 tons.. The Silverado ev is more of a 3/4 ton but tows 12.5k part of that is the towing capacity wars a decade ago. Where you used to see all the angry power boost owners. I would tow 12.5k in a rivian before any other traditional 1/2 tons.
Pretty much the same one I bought a year and a half ago. Silverado LTZ with the 5.3 and no other options.
I might also consider a Ford PowerBoost, now that they’ve had a few years to work out the kinks. Would probably have cost substantially more than the Silverado to get the features I want (Ford’s option bundling sucks), but the hybrid features would be nice. Ram is still on my shit list because of my last experience with them (and I don’t fit well in their cabs for some reason), and Toyota’s truck powertrains always feel half-baked.
I don’t think there is any half ton truck officially for sale here, so none I guess.
Honda has never been big here, but now it is smaller than ever. In the 90s the Civic and Accord were fairly popular but now you hardly see Hondas (curiously one overtook me yesterday an… HR-V maybe?).
That is the opposite of Toyota, with their small and affordable hybrids (Yaris and Auris-Corolla) they have become sales leaders here.
Honda’s relative absence from the European market is really hurting them right now, while it’s helping Toyota and Nissan get through some tough times since the Chinese competition hasn’t really arrived there yet. Honda’s sales in China are crumbling much faster than the other two, and all are suffering in SEA and Oceania. At least Honda builds everything they sell in the US apart from the Civic sedan (liftback is made in the US) so they’re not directly affected by tariffs.
Every car built in the USA is directly affected by tariffs. Parts have a minimum of 25% tariff and 50% tariffs on metals have driven up steel and aluminum prices.
If I were buying today and money wasn’t much of a factor then it would either be one of the remaining Lightnings or one of the GM EV twins.I wish they were around when I was in the market for a new truck originally.
I almost pulled a trigger on a lighting for about $33k with all the discounts and incentives. I couldn’t help but think I could probably get a lightly used Silverado for not much more and have something alot more capable. They are starting to get there.
Hertz didn’t dump them at a huge discount like I thought they would have has been the biggest issue with cost I think. They set the benchmark with the model 3s for $20k then they went into further freefall.