Honda says it could rebuild European carmaking if new EU rules favor local output

What Honda said in Milan

On Tuesday in Milan, during the EICMA motorcycle show, Hans de Jaeger - who leads Honda's European unit - said the company has "certainly no intention to leave Europe." He noted Honda could look at building cars locally or partnering with another automaker, while stressing there is no active plan on the table.

That's relevant since Honda closed its car plants in 2021 in the UK and Turkey, and it no longer builds automobiles anywhere in Europe.

The EU proposal in play

The Industrial Accelerator Act is part of a broader push to shore up manufacturing and cut strategic dependencies as Chinese competition intensifies. The draft would steer some public procurement and support to vehicles that satisfy Made in EU rules, which include local assembly and stringent European content thresholds.

It is not law yet. The European Parliament and the member states of the EU must still sign off on the proposal.

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Why it matters for your portfolio

Volumes are the swing factor. Across Europe, Honda logged nearly 59,000 registrations over the first nine months of 2026, a total de Jaeger said is still too low to justify a plant, though better sales could change the math. If the EU tilts procurement and support toward locally assembled vehicles, that could influence where Honda allocates capital and how its Europe strategy shows up in your portfolio.

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