Honda’s profit slips as President Trump’s tariffs take their toll on Japanese automakers – Winnipeg Free Press

TOKYO (AP) — Honda said Friday its profit for the first half of its fiscal year through September fell 37% from a year earlier as damage from President Donald Trump's tariffs offset gains in motorcycle sales.

Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. recorded a profit of 311.8 billion yen ($2 billion) for April-September, compared with 494.6 billion yen a year earlier.

Sales for the six months totaled 10.6 trillion yen ($69 billion), down 1.5% from nearly 10.8 trillion yen.

Honda cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2026 to 300 billion yen ($2 billion), down 64% from 835.8 billion yen a year earlier. The company previously forecast full-year profit of 420 billion yen ($2.7 billion).

Honda, which makes the Accord sedan and Odyssey minivan, said the unfavorable currency also hurt its profits, wiping out 116 billion yen ($756 million) from its six-month operating profit.

But Honda achieved record motorcycle sales, helped by strong performance in the Asian region excluding Vietnam. Honda said it sold more than 9 million motorcycles in Asia in the first half, up from 8.8 million a year ago. Sales of Honda motorcycles increased in all regions of the world except Europe, with a record 10.7 million units sold.

Honda's global vehicle sales in the first half were 1.68 million, up from 1.78 million. By region, vehicle sales rose in North America but fell in Japan, the rest of Asia and Europe.

While it helps that Honda makes many of its vehicles in the United States, the tariffs reduced operating profit by 164 billion yen ($1.1 billion) over the six-month period, the company said.

On top of these problems, Honda is facing a chip shortage after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands but owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology, in late September, citing national security concerns.