For the time being, Honda thinks demand remains strong for its vehicles, thanks largely to the fact that pinched production has whittled down inventories.īut Takeuchi warned that the softening economy is a risk to watch. Meanwhile, the company says inflation and recession talk in the U.S. Ongoing shortages of semiconductors specifically needed for the Civic small car and CR-V crossover have forced the Japanese carmaker to lower its regional sales forecast. Takeuchi said North America is an emerging weak link in Honda's global recovery plans. dealers raised questions about the new venture, saying they wanted a piece of the action. The new partnership, called Sony Honda Mobility Inc., will build the vehicles at Honda's planned EV manufacturing hub in Ohio. Honda and Sony outlined plans last month to deliver the joint venture's first EVs to U.S. dealers who are well situated to service the new cars. But he added Honda has a network of more than 1,000 U.S. Takeuchi said the sales and servicing plan is still under discussion.

'It will be something unconventional, not Sony, not Honda, but something new,' he said. Speaking at the company’s financial results announcement Wednesday, CFO Kohei Takeuchi said the sales model will be a completely new one, echoing early talk of an online approach.

That's the message from Honda executives at headquarters in Japan. will likely have a hand in servicing, but not selling, the new wave of electric vehicles coming from the company's new joint venture with Sony.

Sony customer service