Honda Canada reaffirms Alliston, Ont., commitment despite ‘indefinite’ pause on $15B EV plan amid losses

Honda's Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe speaks at a press conference in Tokyo Thursday, May 14, 2026. (Yuta Omori/Kyodo News via AP)

Honda Canada is reaffirming its commitment to Alliston, Ont., even as mounting losses force the automaker to hit pause “indefinitely” on a $15 billion electric vehicle (EV) expansion.

This announcement comes on the heels of Honda reporting its first-ever $2.7 billion full year loss, which the company says is largely due to the heavy costs of developing electric vehicles as U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies stem away from EVs.

On Thursday, Honda Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe held a presser in Tokyo, saying the suspension is tied to changing market conditions slowing EV demand and a shift in the company’s global strategy.

Now, instead of focusing on fully electric vehicles, the automaker says it will invest more into hybrid models, which are seeing a much stronger demand.

The decision means the massive expansion Honda had planned for Alliston back in 2024, including a new EV assembly plant and a battery supply chain will no longer move forward for the “foreseeable future”, a project that had the potential to create 1,000 new manufacturing jobs in the region.

New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross and advocate of Simcoe Auto Mayors says, “we want to be clear: the decision to pause this project does not impact current operations or existing jobs in New Tecumseth. Our local workforce remains strong and our manufacturing base remains resilient.”

Honda notes that the pause does not impact its current operations in Alliston. The company says there will be no job losses tied to this decision.

In a statement, Honda Canada says its Alliston facility remains a key part of the company’s manufacturing future. “Operations continue to meet strong demand for Honda Civic and CR-V models,” the company said, adding that its “flexible manufacturing approach” has helped sustain more than 40 years of vehicle production in the country.

In 2025, Honda says it built roughly 400,000 vehicles in Canada, including 198,000 Civics and more than 200,000 CR-Vs. Over 60 per cent of those vehicles were hybrids.

Mibe clarifies the automaker will spend the next three years transforming its automotive business instead of boosting EV making.

Starting in 2027, Honda says it will begin launching its next-generation hybrid models featuring both an all-new hybrid system and platform. It still plans to launch 15 next-generation hybrid models globally by 2030.

“As for EVs, Honda will continue laying the groundwork for introducing a highly competitive EV hardware platform for the future so that Honda will be well prepared to meet demand when it emerges,” stated the automaker in a release.

Simcoe Area Auto Mayors and the town are actively pushing for coordinated action and stronger alignment with industry needs.

Next Thurs., May 21, the Town of New Tecumseth and the Simcoe Auto Mayors, state that they will come together at Town Hall to call on the federal government for targeted amendments to federal automotive policies.

CTV’s Sarah Freemark will sit down at the desk at 6 p.m. on Thursday with New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross to discuss this further.

With files from CTV’s Stephanie Ha and The Associated Press