Do we like them?

Do we like Honda?

Japanese maker of cars, motorcycles and power equipment, plus financial services; based in Tokyo.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A solid, well-built carmaker with a real hybrid edge. Past safety-reporting failures and a costly EV U-turn keep us cautious, so we'd back it, but only with a short leash.

Honda is one of Japan's big carmakers. It is listed on the stock market, so no family or founder owns it. Toshihiro Mibe, an engine and R&D man who joined in 1987, became CEO in April 2021. He was put in charge of the shift to electric cars and self-driving tech.

The big drama is the airbag mess. Takata pleaded guilty to fraud in 2017 over its defective inflators. Honda still ended up settling with 48 US state attorneys general, who accused it of not telling regulators and drivers about the rupture risk. Honda also recalled about 12.9 million vehicles.

Other regulators have caught it out too. A law firm summary says the US safety regulator NHTSA fined Honda $70 million in 2015 for not reporting more than 1,700 injury and death claims. In 2025, California's privacy regulator said Honda made opting out of data sharing harder than opting in. Honda settled for $632,500.

More recently, Honda bet big on EVs and then backed off. In March 2026 it cancelled three planned North American EV models and flagged charges of up to $15.7 billion. Automotive News reported its first loss in nearly 70 years. Shareholders kept Mibe on in June, and Honda is now pivoting to hybrids.

Why a 6? Honda still says it will reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and its hybrids are popular. But the safety-reporting history, the privacy fine and the retreat from EVs mean it is a decent company, not an outstanding one. We'd back it, with eyes open.