The CEOs of Japan’s largest automakers have been in the news lately, but not in the way they imagined, especially since ‘tis the season of investor meetings. 

Toyota CEO Kenta Kon warned that the largest Japanese automaker (and the world’s largest) could be in trouble if things don’t change, and called for a rethink and reduction of their model range. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa bore the brunt of shareholder rage at the company meeting because they didn’t get their dividends. Some even called to bring back Carlos Ghosn, though that idea didn’t pass.

Now it was Honda’s turn. And yes, it wasn’t good either.

Honda Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe had to apologize to shareholders in the meeting because, for the first time in seven decades, Honda posted an annual loss. In FY2025 (April 2025 to March 2026), Honda’s financial report showed an operating loss of JPY 414.35 billion as well as a net loss of JPY 423.94 billion. The last time the report looked like this was in 1957. 

“I would like to express my deepest apologies to our shareholders for the significant concern and inconvenience caused by the net loss recorded in the fiscal year’s financial results,” said the Honda president and CEO at the outset of the proceedings. 

The reasons for Honda’s red results from FY2025 were due to two major factors: a drop in demand in the Chinese market, as well as the 180-degree turn that Honda took on their bold EV strategy. And that U-turn just so happened to be announced right before the world was given the massive oil shock from the US-Israel war against Iran, and all automakers are scrambling to accelerate and expand their EVs and PHEVs worldwide. 

Mibe defended their decision to roll back on their EV strategy, as he felt that the business would still be in the red for 5-7 years, and put the company in a truly tough spot. Honda had been aiming at the US market for EVs, but the election of Trump and the subsequent push to bring oil back to the fore showed a decline in BEV demand there. Much of that, of course, occurred prior to the war in the Persian Gulf. 

There was also the issue regarding the failed talks with Nissan to come together as one. Insiders at Nissan did tell AutoIndustriya that company management felt that the relationship that Honda wanted was one where they outranked Nissan, and needless to say that did not go well in Yokohama. Despite that, the Honda CEO did highlight that there may be some partnership with Nissan on other matters in the near future. As to what, we will have to wait.

As expected, there were calls for Mibe's resignation from Honda insiders. There was even a proposal to file a motion from a shareholder right there at the meeting, but technicalities prevented it from moving forward. It seems the Honda CEO was able to weather the storm and keep his post, along with the rest of the board.

Indeed, shareholders will be keeping an eye on the company’s progress for the next few months, and definitely up to the end of FY2026 in March.