Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Combined U.S. new-car sales for six Japanese automakers in the January-September 2026 period came to 4,596,858 units, up 1.0% from a year earlier, according to figures the companies released on the 1st. Toyota, Honda and Nissan all posted gains, as sales of fuel-efficient hybrids and affordably priced passenger cars grew amid prolonged high fuel prices. Toyota rose 0.6% to 1,876,614 units, with sales expanding mainly for hybrids such as its flagship Camry sedan and the 4Runner sport-utility vehicle; the RAV4 SUV slipped on the impact of a model changeover but its hybrid version has been performing well recently. Honda also saw hybrids drive growth, rising 4.7% to 1,149,261 units, with the Accord sedan and CR-V SUV boosting sales, while Nissan gained 0.6% to 716,283 units on strength in its Frontier pickup truck. Subaru, meanwhile, fell 1.5%, Mazda dropped 2.9% and Mitsubishi Motors declined 6.6%.

New car sales in Japan for the first half of fiscal 2026, from April to September, rose 5.1% year on year to 2,292,064 units, the highest level since fiscal 2020, when sales slumped due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The abolition of the environmental performance tax on automobile purchases at the end of March provided a tailwind. The figures were announced on the 1st by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the National Light Motor Vehicle Association. By category, registered vehicles such as passenger cars and trucks drove the overall increase, rising 9.6% to 1,504,178 units, with notable growth from Toyota Motor and Honda, while Mazda and others that introduced new models also posted gains. Meanwhile, light motor vehicles, which saw few refreshed models or new launches, fell 2.5% to 787,886 units, marking their first decline in two years. Sales for the single month of September, announced at the same time, rose 1.3% year on year to 433,683 units, with registered vehicles up 2.5% for a sixth consecutive month of growth, while light motor vehicles slipped 0.6%; among the latter, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors posted increases on the strength of new models launched last autumn.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expects automakers' technology costs to decline by $60.6B through 2031 following the slashed fuel economy standards finalized this week. Within that total, General Motors' technology costs are seen falling by $20.4B, Stellantis by $6.2B, Hyundai by $5.3B, Ford by $5.1B, Toyota by $4.5B and Honda by $4.1B. NHTSA projected that if savings are passed on to consumers, per-vehicle costs for new vehicles would be reduced by $1,289 for model year 2031, on average. GM said it supported the goals of NHTSA's final rule for Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and its intention to better align them with market realities. John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, called the Biden-era standards an effective requirement to switch to electric vehicles that was out of step with market realities and customer demand, and described the final rule as an appropriate course correction. Under the previous administration, the auto industry was expected to face no more than $1.83B in fines from 2027 through 2031 for not meeting CAFE standards.

Honda Motor is in advanced talks to build a hybrid vehicle plant in the United States, with an investment of 300 billion to 400 billion yen, or $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion, according to a Nikkei Asia report. The proposed factory could be located in Ohio, and if negotiations succeed the Japanese automaker aims to begin operations by 2030, which would make it Honda's first new North American factory in nearly 20 years. A Honda spokesperson told Benzinga that no decisions have been made at this stage regarding a new U.S. plant, adding that the company has steadily expanded American production by maximizing existing facilities and flexible production lines before adding new capacity. The report said the final decision depends on negotiations over state subsidies, leaving some uncertainty around the plan, while rising U.S. gasoline prices amid the U.S.-Iran war boost demand for fuel-efficient hybrids. Separately, Toyota decided in July to shift Tacoma pickup production from Mexico to Texas with a $3.6 billion investment, bringing its total San Antonio investment to $8.3 billion since 2003, and a bipartisan Senate group led by Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin is seeking unanimous approval for the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 to block Chinese cars, software and key components from the U.S. market.

The U.S. auto safety regulator has closed its review of a 2022 Honda recall covering rear-view camera problems in 129,092 Ridgeline pickup trucks, concluding that further regulatory action was not warranted. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the review in 2024 and escalated it to a more detailed engineering investigation in February 2025 after reports that wiring harnesses had failed in some vehicles even after the original recall repair was performed. NHTSA said its examination did not substantiate concerns that the repaired harnesses would develop failures. Investigators at the agency's Vehicle Research and Test Center gathered information from vehicle owners, examined selected trucks and subjected the wiring harnesses to durability testing, finding no instances in which harness damage had caused a rear-view camera failure. The regulator added that the component was not expected to fail over a reasonable operating life, and that most complaints received during the investigation related to other rear-view camera or wiring-harness problems that could not be tied to the durability concern behind the engineering analysis.

The Ministry of Finance has designated the drive to bring companies in future industries, or the New Economy, onto the Stock Exchange of Thailand as one of the key performance indicators, or KPIs, for three agencies: the Board of Investment, or BOI; the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC; and the Stock Exchange of Thailand, through the BOI to IPO project, in order to assess proactive performance beyond their normal mandates. The measure aims to draw foreign capital and operators across the supply chain from upstream to downstream, including advanced electronic components such as PCB and optical transceivers, modern vehicles, smart agriculture, global pet food, and the wellness sector, to raise funds on the Thai stock market. The BOI board meeting on September 11, 2026 approved additional incentive measures, or on-top incentives, for companies that receive investment promotion and list on the stock exchange. New Economy businesses receive an additional three years of corporate income tax exemption beyond the normal criteria, or the option of an additional 50% corporate income tax reduction for five years. General businesses receive an additional two years of corporate income tax exemption, or the option of an additional 50% corporate income tax reduction for three years. From 2023 to June 2026, there were investment promotion applications totaling more than 5 trillion baht in target industries such as semiconductors, PCB, the AI supply chain, digital, clean energy, robotics, and aircraft parts. In the first half of this year, actual investment of more than 500 billion baht already flowed into the economy, and in 2026 alone, four leading Japanese automakers, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors and Honda, announced additional investments in Thailand worth a combined total of more than 50 billion baht. Asadej Kongsiri, director and manager of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said the project will create four areas of mutual benefit, or four big wins, covering the business sector, investors, the capital market and the overall economy. The SEC has approved new revised criteria to let target companies enter the fundraising process faster by shortening the track record requirement. Meanwhile, the CMDF fund provides support in the form of a matching fund, subsidizing expenses and fees for IPOs at 7 million baht per company. At the same time, the three agencies agreed to set up a joint task force, with the support framework of the project between the stock exchange and the CMDF set at a total of five years, ending in 2031.

Automotive analyst John Murphy has predicted hybrids will account for 34% of the U.S. market by 2030, up from just over 18% in 2026, a shift that could redirect investor attention from speculative EV startups to established automakers and the automotive ETFs holding them. Hybrid electric vehicles reached a record 16% of light-duty vehicle sales in the second quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, while battery electric vehicles saw their market share decline to 6% from 7% the previous year. Toyota, Honda and Hyundai Motor Group currently control 86% of the surging U.S. hybrid market, according to Baum & Associates data cited by CNBC, with Toyota selling over 600,000 hybrids in the United States in the first half of 2026 for a 50% market share and Honda's hybrids now accounting for 31% of American Honda's total sales. The shift has been driven by the expiration of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit in September 2025, which raised the cost of pure EVs by thousands of dollars overnight, and by hybrid pricing that has dropped considerably, with Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai and Kia pushing hybrid variants into their most popular mainstream models at a modest upcharge of $1,500-$2,000. Among the funds positioned for the trend, the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF DRIV, with net assets of $359.2 million, has gained 12.3% year to date and charges 68 basis points, while the First Trust S-Network Future Vehicles & Technology ETF CARZ, with net assets of $46.7 million, has rallied 33% year to date and charges 70 basis points, and the State Street SPDR S&P Kensho Smart Mobility ETF HAIL, with assets under management of $18 million, has risen 3.7% year to date and charges 45 basis points.

Pornchai Theeravej, Director-General of the Excise Department, disclosed that the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee, or EV Board, has approved in principle a restructuring of the excise tax on electric vehicles to support the industry's transition period. The new tax structure will be divided into three rates: the lowest rate for domestic manufacturers that meet local content requirements, a middle rate for importers that plan to invest in building factories in the country, and the highest rate for importers that only sell vehicles. The highest rate will take effect first, and private-sector representatives from three automotive associations have agreed with the approach but asked for further discussion on the grace period. Lawaron Saengsanit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, said clarity is expected within this September before the proposal goes to the Cabinet. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment, said the meeting also approved the appointment of two subcommittees, one on promoting electric vehicle manufacturing and one on developing the electric charging station network, and assigned the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to consider additional support for commercial electric vehicles such as buses, electric trucks, and electric motorcycles. The meeting also acknowledged that of new vehicle registrations this year, more than 50% were electric vehicles combined, covering BEVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, with BEVs rising from 0.3% five years ago to nearly 30%, and hybrids at about 23%. Meanwhile, four major Japanese automakers, Mitsubishi Motors, Isuzu, Honda, and Mazda, have announced plans for continued investment in Thailand totaling more than 50 billion baht through 2029 to 2030.

Akiyoshi Shoji, chairman of Asahi Group Holdings, who took office in June as an outside director of Nissan Motor, responded to interviews with media outlets on the 10th at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama, indicating that in light of advances in artificial intelligence, he believes that for Nissan's business turnaround, "it may be necessary to consider collaboration with companies in other industries, such as IT firms." Within the industry, competition is intensifying in the development of software-defined vehicles, or SDVs, next-generation cars whose performance is improved through software updates, as well as AI that handles functions such as autonomous driving. Nissan has decided on a collaboration with Honda on SDV development, and Shoji said, "It is extremely important that we confirm with each other that this will be a win-win for both sides and move forward accordingly."

The Board of Investment (BOI) has revealed that Japan remains a key investment partner for Thailand. In 2025, Japanese investors applied for investment promotion for 302 projects with a total value exceeding 113.7 billion baht, more than doubling from the previous year. In the first half of 2026, there were 123 projects worth 32.79 billion baht, reflecting that Thailand remains an important investment base for Japan, particularly for investments aimed at upgrading technology and increasing production efficiency to support the transition of global industries. BOI Secretary-General Narit Therdsteerasukdi stated that Japanese investment is entering a new cycle, building on existing production bases to develop high-value products. For instance, Isuzu is investing over 15 billion baht to upgrade its pickup truck production base, Mazda is investing 7.4 billion baht to produce new hybrid models, Mitsubishi has announced an additional investment of 16 billion baht by 2030, and Honda plans to invest 12 billion baht by 2029 to produce two new car models. This makes Thailand the only country outside Japan to produce a total of eight car models. Meanwhile, the automotive supply chain is shifting towards EV and hybrid components, such as Astemo investing 3.5 billion baht to produce PCU inverters and Aisin investing in hybrid transmission systems. The electronics sector is also expanding into advanced components, with Murata producing MLCCs and Panasonic producing upstream materials for circuit boards. The new factory will be the first production base for MEGTRON materials in ASEAN to support AI. Additionally, there are investments in aviation and agri-food, such as NMB-Minebea investing over 2.6 billion baht to open an aircraft parts factory in Lopburi, and Toyo Saikan investing 2.47 billion baht to produce plant-based beverages. A survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) indicates that 23% of Japanese companies plan to increase their investment in Thailand in 2026, while 48% will maintain their current investment levels. The BOI also supports the establishment of regional offices in Thailand, with over 40% currently coming from Japan.

SUB A CAR, the personal car rental service under the Akanei Capital group, has announced the addition of five alternative energy vehicles, including hybrids (HEV) and fully electric vehicles (BEV): the Toyota Yaris Cross HEV Premium, Toyota Corolla Cross HEV Premium Luxury, Honda HR-V e:HEV EL, BYD Atto 2 Premium, and MG4 X Long Range. This move responds to modern travel trends where consumers prioritize convenience, technology, and alternative energy. The company stated that this expansion allows customers to try alternative energy vehicles before making a purchase decision, while enhancing the rental experience with home delivery and pickup, a single fee with no surcharges, unlimited mileage, no deposit required, and first-class insurance on all vehicles.

Honda Motor rose about 1% to $32.18 on Monday after deepening its technology alliance with Nissan, as the two Japanese automakers build common electronic-control hardware and software for next-generation vehicles. The agreement covers high-performance and zone control units, an in-vehicle operating system, middleware, and vehicle-control software, with the shared platform slated for vehicles in the financial year starting 2029. Mitsubishi Motors is considering joining the project. By sharing the expensive digital backbone, Honda aims to spread development costs across more vehicles while preserving brand-specific features, but the 2029 timeline poses execution risk amid competition from BYD and other Chinese rivals exporting software-rich cars. At $32.18, Honda trades 2.57% below its $33.03 GF Value, indicating modest upside.

According to the Nikkei, Honda and Nissan Motor have agreed to share core technologies that will serve as the brains of next-generation vehicles. The two companies have signed a joint development contract to standardize the key components and basic operating systems (OS) of software-defined vehicles (SDVs), where software enhances vehicle performance. The agreement took more than two years to reach, as the companies struggled to balance common goals with their own interests.

Nissan Motor and Honda have announced plans to standardize the basic software for their next-generation vehicles. Additionally, Asia Investment will introduce a shareholder benefit program that offers products worth 5,000 yen to shareholders who hold 500 or more shares continuously for over one year. CVS Bay reported an operating loss of 40 million yen for July 2026 (compared to a loss of 18 million yen in the same month the previous year), and Asterisk has revised down its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending August 2026. Inaba Denki Sangyo will make Fujikura Shoji, a sales subsidiary of Fujikura, a wholly owned subsidiary. Twinbird has expressed opposition to the acquisition proposal by Japanet Holdings and announced a new medium-term management plan. SWCC will conduct a 1-for-5 stock split at the end of September. Try Eyes has revised up its earnings plan for the fiscal year ending December 2026, changing its consolidated operating loss of 22 million yen to a profit of 52 million yen. Vector HD has signed a usage agreement with Air Mobility for its high-performance server rental business, with the order amount expected to exceed 10% of its sales for the fiscal year ending March 2026 (1.3 billion yen). Rokko Butter will increase its year-end dividend from 20 yen to 30.5 yen. Miki Kogyo and Kawakami Paint will implement stock splits. Postpla will make Cube a subsidiary and enter the entertainment IP business.

Honda Motor has revealed it is considering building a new automobile assembly plant in the United States to increase hybrid vehicle production capacity, following a restructuring of its electric vehicle business. A company spokesperson confirmed that no final decision has been made, but sources indicate that Honda plans to decide on the investment within the next few years, aiming to begin operations around 2030, with consideration given to producing hybrid SUVs, which are in high demand in the market. Honda views strengthening its hybrid lineup as a key part of its strategy, with plans to launch 15 new models focused on the North American market by fiscal year 2029. The investment decision also depends on progress in negotiations over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as President Donald Trump has announced a 50% tariff increase on automobiles and parts from Canada starting January 1 next year, which could prompt Honda to reconsider its plans for a new plant.

According to the Federation of Thai Industries, released on the 25th, July auto production totaled 117,383 units, up 6.12% year-on-year, turning positive from June's 7.55% decline. Domestic sales increased 20.07% year-on-year, accelerating from June's 17.26% growth. Exports also recovered, up 2.39% year-on-year, compared to June's 7.45% decrease. Thailand is Southeast Asia's largest auto production hub and serves as an export base for major global manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda. The federation forecasts that full-year auto production in 2026 will decline by 3.33%.

Honda's Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara said at a press conference in Washington that the company's production capacity in North America is nearly at its limit and a new plant is needed. However, he noted that if an agreement on the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) is not reached in the future, the company may have to change its policy. He stated that the company aims to make a decision within one to two years and have the plant operational by around 2030. He also mentioned that Honda is currently not passing on the costs of tariffs to North American buyers.

Honda Motor dealerships were ranked among the top acquisition opportunities in the U.S. market in a new Franchise Horsepower Index report. The index highlights strong sales growth and comparatively attractive valuations for Honda dealerships relative to peers, with a blue sky multiple nearly 20% below Toyota. Analysts suggest the findings could influence investor sentiment and acquisition activity across the U.S. automotive retail sector. The key marker to watch is the pace of completed Honda dealership buy-sell deals reported for the U.S. market over the rest of 2026.

QuantumScape Chief Technology Officer Timothy Holme sold 75,962 shares of Class A Common Stock on August 18 and 19, according to an SEC Form 4 filing. The transaction was valued at approximately $437,000 based on a weighted average sale price of $5.75 per share. Of the total, 34,086 shares were withheld to cover tax obligations following the release of restricted stock units, while the remaining sales were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on June 5, 2025. Holme still directly holds 1,658,075 shares worth $9.75 million at the August 19 closing price of $5.88, and he also holds 1.2 million indirect derivative securities. The sale came in the same quarter that Honda agreed to partner with QuantumScape on its solid-state battery technology, which CEO Siva Sivaram described as the result of one of the most rigorous assessments of the technology to date.

QuantumScape Corporation shares have gained about 11.4% since the company reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter 2026 loss of 16 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. GAAP net loss narrowed 14.4% year over year to $98.24 million, while total operating expenses fell 14.1% to $106.13 million. The company announced a multi-year partnership with Honda and updated its collaboration with Volkswagen Group's PowerCo, and it created three business verticals targeting electric vehicles, AI data centers, and aerospace and defense. QuantumScape lowered its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $27-$37 million from $40-$60 million and ended June with $859 million in liquidity. Analysts have revised estimates upward since the report, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3, or Hold.

The United States is preparing to reduce import tariffs on automobiles from Canada to 15% from the current 25%, as part of a trade agreement under negotiation, with Canada required to lift trade measures imposed in retaliation against the US. Multiple foreign news agencies reported, citing sources, that under the new agreement the tariff rate for Canadian autos would fall to 15%, while details of the deal are still being finalized and there remains a possibility that President Donald Trump could adjust terms late in the negotiations or scrap the agreement, as has happened in past trade talks. The two countries are also discussing ways to expand the list of parts and value eligible for additional tariff exemptions, but no final decision has been made so far. If an agreement is reached on that issue, it would further reduce the tariff burden on automakers. The tariff cut could be a major victory for Canada's auto industry, including major manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, General Motors, and Ford, which all have production bases in Canada and export vehicles to the US market. Last year, the US announced 25% tariffs on imported cars and trucks built outside the country, while for vehicles produced in Canada and Mexico, the US would levy tariffs only on the value of parts not made in the US, in an effort to push manufacturers to increase domestic production and use more local parts.

U.S. auto dealership acquisitions rose 14.3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, while the number of transactions increased just 3.2%, according to the Q2 2026 Haig Report from Haig Partners. The report also introduces a new Franchise Horsepower Index measuring new-vehicle economics, finds buyers completing larger transactions and concentrating capital on premium franchises, and identifies Honda as one of today's most attractive acquisition opportunities. Five transactions involving five or more dealerships were completed during the first half of 2026, compared with none in the same period last year. The average blue sky value of a publicly owned dealership was $18.2 million for the twelve months ended Q2 2026, essentially unchanged from the first quarter and more than twice the $8.3 million average recorded in 2019, though down modestly from $19.0 million in full-year 2025. Premium luxury franchises represented 36.1% of acquisitions by Top 20 dealer groups during the last 24 months, up from 22.8% during 2020 and 2021, while domestic franchises fell from 28.7% to 15.1% over the same periods. Haig Partners raised its estimated blue sky multiple ranges for Toyota and Lexus, reduced the top end of its Porsche range, and said Honda's estimated blue sky multiple remains nearly 20% below Toyota's, creating what it believes is an unusually attractive buying opportunity.

Nvidia has signed seven Japanese industrial giants into its new physical AI coalition, locking in a massive, long-lived stream of demand for its chips and software. Companies including Fujitsu, FANUC, Yaskawa Electric, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Hitachi, NEC, SoftBank, Sony, and Kubota intend to build on Nvidia's Cosmos, Isaac, Metropolis, and Jetson platforms as part of a Cosmos Coalition focused on physical AI. Nvidia is also partnering with Noetra, a Japanese AI consortium backed by Sony, SoftBank, Honda, and dozens of other firms, to build what it calls the world's first national infrastructure for physical AI, centered on a Vera Rubin AI factory with 13,750 Vera CPUs and 27,500 Rubin GPUs delivering about 140 megawatts of compute capacity. Japan's industry ministry expects this to help the country capture 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government plans to mobilize more than 370 trillion yen, or 2.3 trillion dollars, in combined public and private investment by 2040 across physical AI, semiconductors, and data centers. Noetra's own roadmap calls for roughly 1 trillion yen, or 6.3 billion dollars, of sovereign AI spending over five years to develop domestic foundation models for robots and industrial AI.

Honda Motor reported a record first-quarter operating profit of JPY 530.7 billion and raised its full-year operating profit guidance by JPY 150 billion to JPY 650 billion. The motorcycle business achieved an all-time quarterly high of JPY 233.9 billion, driven by strong sales in India and Brazil, while the automobile business posted JPY 192.1 billion with a 5.0% operating margin despite a 40% contraction in China's internal combustion engine and hybrid market. The company also revised its adjusted full-year operating profit forecast to JPY 1.17 trillion, excluding EV-related losses, and increased its profit attributable to owners guidance to JPY 400 billion. Management cited a weaker yen and tariff impacts as positive factors, but warned of uncertainty from the Middle East and the Kumamoto earthquake, which suspended production at several plants.