Honda is reducing its budget for pure EVs in favour of hybrids after the slower than expected global adoption of electrification.

In a release the company said it would cut investment in EVs by £16bn by 2030 to £36bn.

Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe said: “Uncertainty in the business environment is increasing, due particularly to the slowdown in the expansion of EV the market due to several factors, including changes in environmental regulations, which had been the premise for the widespread adoption of EVs, as well as changes in trade policies of various countries.”

In its statement Honda said that given the recent market slowdown, Honda’s global EV sales ratio in 2030 was now expected to fall below the previously announced target of 30 per cent.

Mibe, however, reiterated that environment and safety, including an ambitious goal to “achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities” and “zero traffic collision fatalities" by 2050 were still a priority.

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