Honda may have bonfired its original North American EV strategy, but it hasn’t stopped believing electric cars matter. Instead, the company’s preparing a different kind of future that gives it a bit more wriggle room if things don’t go to plan.

Fresh from writing off $15.7 billion in EV investment over the scrapped 0 Series North American EV program, the Japanese automaker is developing a next-generation electric vehicle platform. But this one will be capable of supporting both hybrid and fully electric powertrains, Automotive News reports.

Related: Acura Is Going All-In On Hybrids, Honda Is Keeping Gas Cars Affordable

That flexibility is a key attribute, and signals a major shift in how Honda views the industry’s transition toward electrification. Rather than locking itself into a single solution, Honda wants options. After changing market conditions, weakening policy support from the US government, and mounting political uncertainty, the company now appears far more cautious about committing exclusively to fully-electric vehicles.

That doesn’t mean Honda thinks EVs are dead. Far from it, actually. Company president Toshihiro Mibe reportedly said Honda still expects electric adoption to accelerate after 2030, even if hybrid demand remains stronger than previously predicted throughout the remainder of this decade.

“The market could change depending on the Trump administration over the next two and a half years and the outcome of the November midterm elections,” Mibe said, according to Auto News. “We are studying systems and next-generation EV concepts that would work no matter which way things evolve.”

Series 0 Too Inflexible

That philosophy explains why Honda’s future platform needs to handle multiple powertrain types, rather than just fully electric, as the Series 0 sedan and SUV (above) would have done. The company reportedly believes the balance between hybrids and EVs could continue shifting depending on regulations, incentives, charging infrastructure, and trade policies. A flexible architecture would allow Honda to react far quicker than manufacturers tied to expensive EV-only platforms.

In the short term, Honda’s strategy focuses on hybrids, and not EVs at all. The automaker recently revealed plans to launch 15 hybrid models by 2029 on a platform that’s different from the combined EV/hybrid one revealed this week. And it has mapped slightly different courses for Honda and Acura. The premium brand will push hybrids to its customers, while Honda will offer ICE and hybrid options to attract more cost-conscious buyers.

The report also says Honda will wait to learn the outcome of trade negotiations between the US, Canada, and Mexico before deciding whether to reactivate its plans for an EV production hub in Canada, which it put on hold earlier in May.

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Honda’s electric future in North America just took its second major hit in as many months. The company is now hitting pause on plans for a massive EV and battery plant in Canada, and it might not restart anytime soon.

The project, originally announced in 2024, was going to be huge, with $15 billion CAD ($11 bn USD) earmarked for a new factory in Alliston, Ontario. But Honda has decided to shelve the plan indefinitely while it reassesses the market, Nikkei Asia reports.

Related: Honda’s $15.9 Billion EV Disaster Just Delayed The Next Accord, Odyssey, And MDX

It’s not hard to see why the plans collapsed. EV demand in the US isn’t where Honda expected it to be, and that’s forcing a rethink. Instead of going all in on electric, the company is doubling down on hybrids, which are selling strongly right now.

Policy changes haven’t helped either. The removal of federal EV incentives in the US has made electric cars more expensive overnight, while relaxed efficiency rules have reduced the urgency for automakers to push EVs hard. There’s also the issue of tariffs and trade uncertainty between the US and Canada, which adds another layer of risk to any long-term investment.

“American tariffs and changes to US domestic policies are creating real pressures for automakers, prompting some to delay or scale back investments in electric vehicle and battery projects,” Industry Minister Melanie Joly told Canada’s CTV News.

Already Delayed

Honda had already delayed the Alliston EV project once, pushing the timeline for the car plant and related battery plant back by two years in May of 2025, despite having already acquired the land and locked in financial help from Canada. Now it’s taking things further by putting everything on ice while it watches how the market evolves, though it will still build the Civic and CR-V at its existing Alliston plant that was opened in 1986.

Multiple Future EVs Scrapped

The shift in powertrain philosophy is already showing up in Honda’s new EV product plans. The company is winding down the Prologue EV, which it co-developed with GM, and earlier this year scrapped three exciting new Honda and Acura electric cars and SUVs destined for North American roads, even though they were in the final stages of development. Not long after that, Honda and Sony confirmed they were abandoning their plans to launch EVs under the Afeela brand.

Instead of EVs, Honda will focus on hybrids in North America, which are gaining popularity with buyers, and extend the life of existing models to save cash. That doesn’t mean Honda is abandoning EVs completely. It still has flexible production lines in Ohio that can build gas, hybrid, or electric models depending on demand, having spent $1 billion to upgrade the site. But for a while at least, fully electric models won’t be part of Honda’s future in the US or Canada.

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