Okinaga's questions to Honda Motor Co Ltd (HMC) leadership • Q1 2026
Question
Mr. Okinaga from Nikkei Newspaper inquired about the financial impact of the reduced US-Japan auto tariff, the outlook for tariffs on vehicles from Canada and Mexico, and whether Honda's North American production strategy reflects a continued sense of crisis regarding trade policy.
Answer
Eiji Fujimura, Director, Managing Executive Officer, and CFO, described the tariff reduction from 25% to 15% as a positive development that provides clarity, though implementation details are pending. He reaffirmed Honda's strategy to 'produce where there is demand,' noting their high local production ratio in the US. Mr. Fujimura mentioned plans to potentially increase US plant uptime and emphasized the critical need to localize the production of key hybrid vehicle components currently imported from Japan.