Honda Says Its 2027 China Gas Car Phase-Out Is Old News, and the Plan Is Already Softening

Claims that Honda will stop offering gasoline cars in China from 2027 spread across Chinese social media this week.

On August 25, Honda China told Blue Whale News that the statement about no new gasoline models after 2027 dates back to 2023. Joint venture GAC Honda was even blunter, calling it old news.

The original pledge came from the 2023 Shanghai auto show, when Honda China declared that every model launched in China after 2027 would be hybrid or fully electric, with pure gasoline cars phased out, and that Honda would reach 100% EV sales in China by 2035.

But Honda's own recent moves tell a softer story. Asked whether the strategy has changed, the company said it is reviewing its business plans based on market conditions, and that hybrid-focused gasoline model plans are under discussion with multiple possibilities on the table.

At the Beijing auto show this April, GAC Honda already announced three all-new models for 2027 spanning gasoline, hybrid and new energy, which flatly contradicts the 2023 hybrid-and-EV-only promise.

In July the GAC-Honda joint venture renewed its agreement two years early, extending to 2038, and in August it outlined five new models over two years, including two localized EVs built on both partners' resources.

The backdrop explains everything. Honda globally dropped its 2040 all-electric target this May in favor of a hybrid-first approach. Its China EVs have not clicked, since GAC Honda sells exactly one electric model, the P7, while Dongfeng Honda's S7, e:NS2 and Lingxi have all underwhelmed.

Meanwhile Honda's July China sales plunged 44.1%, a 30th consecutive monthly decline. When EVs lose money and gasoline cars still pay the bills, a three-year-old pledge naturally gets re-examined. For Honda, admitting it needs to adjust beats clinging to a promise the market has already vetoed.