Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe caused shock with his statement after visiting a supplier factory in Shanghai: "We have no hope against it". The Japanese company faces a serious crisis in China, with sales falling from 1.62 million units in 2020 to just 640,000 in 2025, while for 2026 they are expected to fall below 600,000. Honda uses only 50% of its capacity. Chinese manufacturers develop new models in two years or less, while traditional brands take twice as long.
Analyticalally:
We've known for a long time thatSome, Europe and Japan are watching from frightened to helpless the progress of Chinese carsBut every time you hear such lines you realize that the problem is neither negligible nor easily addressed.
This time it is. the CEO of Honda that made sure to feed a little more the shock that traditional car companies face. To remind you that recently and outgoing CEO of Toyota Koji Sato At a supplier meeting he stressed that "If things don't change, we won't survive...".
CEO and president of Honda, Toshihiro Mibe (central photo), recently traveled to China to understand how domestic companies produce so many cars in such a short time. After visiting a car supplier factory in Shanghai, he made a shocking placement: "We have no hope against it"According to Nikkei Asia.
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The fact is that Honda is in a more difficult position from other traditional companies - recently canceled the two electric cars he was preparing with Sony and "entered" many billion.
But that doesn't mean it isn't. Another worrying sign of how difficult some traditional car manufacturers are create a profitable business model for electric cars.
However, problems for Honda are not limited only to electric cars. As with most traditional brands, Honda has difficulty remaining competitive in China.
Sales have collapsed in just a few years, from the high of 1.62 million in 2020 to just 640,000 units in 2025. Only about half of its production capacity is used, well below 70-80% usually required in the car industry to generate profits. For 2026, annual production is projected to fall below 600,000 units.
China's Speed
Surely you have heard of China's speed and how local car manufacturers can develop a brand new model in two years or less.
Traditional brands often take twice as long, and sometimes even more, to design a new product. With a huge number of companies developing vehicles at an unprecedented pace, it is no wonder it gives the impression that China launches a new car every other day.
Chinese suppliers are not only able to keep up with this pace, But they do it with an economic efficiency that the largest companies in the industry can only dream of. However, Mibe's statement should not be seen as an admission to defeat. Returning from China, Honda's CEO told suppliers: "We must act quickly" to speed up growth.
Here it is worth pointing out that not everyone lives with their hands crossed. e.g. Renault developed the new electric Twingo in 100 weeks and shows that Europe too if it wants to to keep up with what China has achieved. Now how easy it is to adopt on a wide scale such efficient models in Europe, USA and Japan are a major debate.
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