Market Continues to Change, Honda Postpones Hydrogen Car Factory Construction

KatadataOTO – Honda has officially revised its plan to build a fuel cell plant in Moka City, Tochigi, Japan. The company initially wanted to start operations at the facility by the end of the 2028 fiscal year with an annual production of 30,000 units.

However, they have now revealed that they will reduce the initial production capacity and postpone the start of full-scale operations. This is due to changes in demand in the global electric and hydrogen car markets.

This decision certainly has many impacts. As reported by Auto World Journal, Honda will not qualify for the Green Transformation subsidy offered by the Japanese government.

This is because the company is not expected to be able to meet the minimum production of 20,000 hydrogen cars per year.

Photo : Honda

Nevertheless, they remain committed to developing hydrogen vehicles in the future. Moreover, Honda was one of the first companies to introduce this technology.

They have even developed a new generation fuel cell module as part of their mission to achieve carbon neutrality in all models and operations by 2050. Hydrogen cars are still part of the plan.

Reducing Investment in Electric Vehicles

It was previously reported that Honda is overhauling its plans. In May 2025, they announced a reduction in investment in electric vehicles due to a global slowdown in demand.

Instead, they will focus more on developing hybrid technology, which has recently become increasingly popular with the public. The sales target for electric vehicles has also been reduced to just 30 percent of the total market in the 2030 fiscal year.

Photo : Honda

Not only that, Honda has also announced a delay of about two years in its plan to build an EV production base in Ontario, Canada. This is despite the very high investment value of USD 10.7 billion or around IDR 175.8 billion.

Honda's move is not too surprising as they are not the first brand to do so. High demand for hybrid cars and the easing of deadlines for meeting emissions regulations are the main reasons.