Honda Maintains Technical Sophistication in Spite of Stagnation
Despite an impressive tradition of knowledge in engineering that has seen the Japanese company build airplanes and rockets, it lacks live player leadership needed to convert it into business success.
Honda Motor Corporation is Japan’s second-largest automobile manufacturer after Toyota and one of the largest auto makers in the world, with annual production of nearly four million vehicles. With 2024 revenues of nearly ¥22 trillion Japanese yen—roughly $150 billion—it is the second-largest Japanese company by revenue, employing 194,000 people worldwide.1 Honda is also the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles, producing over twenty million units annually and making the company the world’s largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines i.e. gasoline-fueled engines. While cars and motorcycles make up the vast majority of Honda’s business, the company has a strong tradition of knowledge in engineering and also manufactures millions of “power products” relying on engines each year, including generators, lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, and snow ploughs.2 Most surprisingly, the company has even entered the aircraft market with a relatively successful small business jet and, in June 2025, it successfully launched and landed a small reusable rocket.