Mibe’s February trip to the Chinese plant came during a turbulent period for global automakers, who were forced to reassess investment strategies following a sharp policy reversal in the United States in mid-2025 that removed a long-standing electric vehicle tax credit. The policy shift significantly altered demand forecasts and disrupted EV transition plans across the industry.
Major US manufacturers including Ford Motor Company and General Motors reportedly absorbed multi-billion-dollar losses tied to the abrupt market adjustment. Honda itself was also affected, with losses exceeding $15.7 billion as automakers recalibrated production pipelines and long-term EV strategies.
Speaking in late 2025, Mibe acknowledged that policy uncertainty in the United States may have slowed the broader shift away from internal combustion engines. However, he also reaffirmed a longer-term environmental commitment, stating that the company had a “moral imperative” to reduce emissions and phase out fossil fuel dependence amid rising global temperatures.
By early March, Honda disclosed its first annual loss in years, shortly after Mibe’s visit to the Chinese EV facility.
What reportedly struck him most was the level of automation and operational efficiency inside the plant. According to reporting cited by SlashGear and a March 31 Nikkei Asia article, the factory demonstrated a production model that significantly reduced human involvement across the manufacturing chain—from logistics to parts procurement.
“We have no chance against this,” Mibe said, reflecting on what he observed. He described a system in which “everything at the facility was automated, and there were no humans on the production floor.”
The remark underscores growing anxiety among legacy automakers as Chinese EV manufacturers scale rapidly with highly digitised production systems, tighter supply chains, and faster turnaround times—factors increasingly reshaping global automotive competition.
As the EV transition accelerates unevenly across regions, the contrast between policy-driven disruptions in Western markets and industrial-scale optimisation in parts of Asia is becoming a defining tension in the global auto industry’s next phase.