Honda Canada is delaying a $15 billion investment project in electric vehicles in Ontario, including a planned EV battery manufacturing facility and an upgraded vehicle assembly plant. Honda Canada spokesman Ken Chiu said Honda is planning an approximate two-year postponement of the comprehensive value chain investment project in Ontario. “The company will continue to evaluate the timing and project progression as market conditions change,” Chiu said in a May 13 statement, adding that the decision will not affect current employment at the Honda manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ont. Honda’s Canada operations were also set to include a cathode active material (CAM) plant and precursor cathode active material (pCAM) factory at an undisclosed Ontario location in partnership with Posco Chemicals. CAM is a key component of lithium-ion batteries found in electric vehicles. Both the Port Colborne facility and the CAM plants were to be key parts of the supply chain for Honda’s Alliston EV manufacturing facility. The project was first announced in April 2024 at an event that included then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford and was to receive support from the federal and Ontario governments. The Tokyo-based automaker said its annual profit totalled 835.8 billion yen (US$5.6 billion), down from 1.1 trillion yen in the previous year. Annual sales edged up 6.2 percent to nearly 21.69 trillion yen (US$147 billion). Honda executive vice-president Noriya Kaihara said U.S. tariffs would be harmful, erasing 650 billion yen (US$4.4 billion) from its operating profit for the fiscal year through March 2026. This is primarily due to the tariffs imposed by the United States on automobiles imported from Canada and Mexico. Honda’s exports of vehicles from Japan to the United States are minimal. Officials emphasized that significant uncertainties remain, but said it was essential to offer a realistic outlook. Mibe said Honda will do its best to reduce the effects of tariffs. In the long term, Honda intends to shift automobile manufacturing to its facilities in the United States and reevaluate its investment strategies. Mibe told reporters that all decisions will be made “very carefully.”