Honda Motor (TYO:7267) posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years as a listed company after mounting EV-related charges and tariff impacts pushed the Japanese automaker into the red despite resilient revenue.

Loss attributable to owners of the parent totaled 423.9 billion yen for the year ended March 31, compared with a profit of 835.8 billion yen a year earlier, according to a Thursday filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Loss per share came to 106.06 yen, compared with earnings per share of 178.93 yen a year earlier.

Revenue inched up 0.5% to 21.797 trillion yen from 21.689 trillion yen in fiscal 2025, supported by stronger motorcycle sales, though gains were partly offset by weaker automobile revenue and adverse currency translation effects.

Honda booked EV-related losses totaling 1.454 trillion yen during the fiscal year, contributing to an operating loss of 414.3 billion yen.

The automaker said the global EV market environment had shifted sharply, particularly in North America, where slowing demand growth and changes to policy support disrupted rollout plans.

Separately, Honda indefinitely suspended plans to establish a comprehensive electric vehicle value chain in Ontario, Canada, after previously delaying the project by about two years amid slowing EV demand.

Honda had unveiled the Canada EV supply chain project in April 2024 as part of efforts to expand its North American EV operations, before postponing the plan in May 2025 because of weaker-than-expected EV demand growth.

"In the United States, the expansion of the EV market has slowed due to revisions to EV incentives and the easing of fossil fuel regulations," Honda said, adding that it revised product launch plans, scrapped development of certain North America-focused EV models, and scaled back some alliance-linked production plans.

The automaker also said intensifying competition from emerging EV manufacturers in China prompted further revisions to launch plans for some electric vehicle models.

The company also said tariff impacts weighed on earnings during the year.

Meanwhile, Honda maintained its full-year dividend at 70 yen per share for fiscal 2026 and projected the same payout for fiscal 2027.

For fiscal 2027, the automaker forecasts revenue of 23.150 trillion yen and profit attributable to owners of the parent of 260 billion yen.

The company said it expects EV-related losses to narrow to 500 billion yen in fiscal 2027.