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https://thedriven.io/2026/03/24/what-hondas-ev-retreat-means-for-the-future-of-clean-tech/>
"Japan’s slow-motion retreat from the car industry’s technological frontier is
now impossible to ignore.
Honda’s recent decision to cancel three new battery-electric models for the US
market — a massive write-down and refocus on hybrids — is not an isolated
corporate mishap; it is a symptom of a deeper national problem. These are the
classic hallmarks of late, cautious entry rather than bold experimentation.
A country that once re-engineered the global auto industry now risks watching
the next era of mobility – and much of clean technology – being defined
elsewhere, most obviously in China.
This is not a story about engineering talent suddenly evaporating. Japan still
turns out world-class engineers, batteries, components and robots.
The problem is strategic: a system optimised for incremental improvement of
yesterday’s technologies – internal combustion engines, conventional hybrids
and even hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles – is colliding with a transition that
rewards speed, scale and a willingness to cannibalise the old, underestimating
how quickly BEV costs would fall and how strongly policy (China, EU) would tilt
toward zero‑tailpipe vehicles.
Honda’s EV retreat simply puts that failure in the headlines."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
