Strong demand for motorcycles helped propel Honda to a 66% surge in net profit during the first half of its fiscal year, the Japanese automaker announced Tuesday.
The Tokyo-based firm reported net income of 516.76 billion yen ($3.3 billion) for the six months through September, rising from 311.83 billion yen a year earlier. First-half revenue climbed 13% to 12 trillion yen from 10.6 trillion yen.
The strong performance came despite financial strain within its electric vehicle segment, where some models were discontinued. Honda stated that EV-related losses wiped 484.8 billion yen from its operating profit.
Executives stressed that battery EVs may eventually gain wider popularity, ensuring the firm remains agile enough to shift toward EV production in the future.
Honda revised its full-year operating profit forecast upward to 780 billion yen, compared with a previous projection of 650 billion yen.
The company attributed the higher target to favorable exchange rates and efforts to offset U.S. tariffs, including shifting manufacturing operations into the United States.
The maker of the Accord sedan and Super Cub motorcycle also announced substantial new manufacturing investments across North America and Brazil.
Honda plans to construct a new car manufacturing facility in Ohio, expanding North American output capacity to 1.91 million vehicles by 2029 from 1.67 million. It expects American demand to grow, particularly for hybrid models.
In Brazil, the business will expand motorcycle production at its Manaus factory, increasing capacity to 2.3 million units by 2029 from 1.6 million today.
Strong popularity in Brazil and India propelled Honda's motorcycle unit to record sales for the fiscal first half. The group sold 11.9 million motorbikes during the period, compared to nearly 10.8 million the previous year.
Global automobile sales dropped to 1.57 million vehicles across the first half, down from 1.68 million previously.
Shares in Honda fell 1.6% in Tokyo trading on Tuesday prior to the earnings release, though the stock has gained over the past year.
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