TOKYO: Honda reported bumper quarterly net profits on Wednesday as strong hybrid vehicle sales in the US and Japan, along with a weaker yen, helped the Japanese automaker overcome weakness in China.
The firm said net profit rose 8.7% to 394.6 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) in April-June, while sales jumped 16.9% to 5.4 trillion yen.
But Japan’s number-two automaker maintained its annual net profit target of 1.0 trillion yen on sales of 20.3 trillion yen.
Honda said its automobile business was “robust” during the quarter, helped by price increases for hybrid models at home and the US.
But overall vehicle unit sales fell because of soft sales in China, where the company reported intensifying competition.
In its motorcycle operations, global sales volume increased, mainly in India and Brazil, while sales fell in Thailand.
Honda said in May that it planned to double investment in electric vehicles to US$65 billion by 2030 as it seeks to go fully electric 10 years later.
The firm joined Nissan in March to say they were looking to cooperate in EVs to cope with a “once-in-a-century” upheaval in the car industry, while they announced last week that Mitsubishi would also sign up.
Analysts said the tie-up was aimed at catching up with Chinese EV competitors as Beijing-backed automakers such as BYD speed ahead of global rivals.
Honda’s rival Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker by sales, last week reported a small rise in net profits as a weak yen and cost cuts helped overcome a drop in production and sales in Japan.
