Honda is charting an independent path, but for how long?

Having struggled financially relative to its domestic counterparts in recent years, Honda embarked on a significant restructuring that has accelerated since 2021, when current Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe took over. The new look Honda has fewer factories—it closed its UK and Turkish plants in 2021—and a reduced model range and capacity but has also turned to electrification in response to prevailing global trends. However, its investment in traditional lithium-ion battery technology has been limited, as it believes the future lies in solid-state batteries that are not yet ready for commercial use.