TOKYO (AP) — Honda’s profit for the fiscal first quarter more than doubled from a year ago, as the Japanese automaker continues to tackle a turnaround from the first full year loss in its history.
Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday its April-June profit totaled 456.9 billion yen ($2.9 billion), up from 196.6 billion yen for the same period a year ago.
Quarterly sales rose 13.5% to 6.06 trillion yen ($38 billion), as vehicles sold well in the U.S. and India, according to the maker of the Accord sedan, Fit subcompact and Super Cub motorcycle.
Honda previously recorded a 423.9 billion yen ($2.7 billion) loss for the fiscal year ended in March, acknowledging heavy costs for its electric-vehicle plans, which didn’t measure up to the original ambitions, partly because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.
Analysts say many consumers weren’t ready to go electric. Honda has abandoned many of its plans for EV models.
The Trump administration has pulled back on incentive programs for EVs and withheld money to states wanting to add more EV charging stations, even as gas prices have soared over the war in Iran. Trump’s tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, lowered to 15% from the initial 25%, also worked to dent Honda’s profitability.
For the latest quarter, Honda’s motorcycle operations were highly lucrative with sales going strong in Brazil and India. Car sales grew in Japan and the U.S., while struggling in China.
Chief Financial Officer Masao Kawaguchi said Honda was working to offer the kinds of models that appeal to Chinese buyers, which are different from those in other markets.
“For that, we must fully utilize our resources in that market,” he told reporters.
That may still take another year or two, he added.
Kawaguchi said Honda’s overall first quarter results were very healthy, thanks partly to a favorable exchange rate.
Although the recent U.S.-Japan joint intervention has boosted the yen’s value somewhat, the U.S. dollar traded higher during the fiscal first quarter, compared with the previous year.
A cheap yen is a boon for Japanese exporters like Honda because it raises the value of its overseas earnings when translated into yen.
Honda is expecting a return to profit for this fiscal year and raised its profit forecast to 400 billion yen ($2.5 billion) from an earlier 260 billion yen ($1.6 billion).
All the Japanese automakers have been impacted by last week’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Kumamoto in southwestern Japan. Some production lines were temporarily halted and supply chains disrupted.
Like other Japanese companies, Honda is going on a summer break later this month. Officials said they’re hoping things will have returned to normal by the time they’re back at work, and the exact impact of the quake on vehicle production is still unclear.
Honda shares jumped 3.9% in Tokyo trading after the financial results were released.
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Visitors examine a Honda Super-One EV during the Indonesia International Auto Show organized by the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (GAIKINDO) in Tangerang, Indonesia, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
HOPKINS, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man killed his 7-year-old daughter and wife as young children gathered at a home daycare the couple owned before taking his own life, police said Wednesday. Some time prior to the attack, police believe he also killed a 78-year-old relative at her home.
The 41-year-old man fatally shot himself after stabbing his wife and child at their in-home daycare in Hopkins, a suburb of Minneapolis, police said.
All six other children who were at Brown Bear Childcare were not physically harmed, authorities said. Another parent called police after witnessing the attack in the home's basement while dropping off a child, Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said.
“There’s no worse scenario than this, where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe, and you get that phone call,” Johnson said at a news conference.
“This is a tragic day and horrific scene for little children to witness, if they did witness this,” Johnson later added.
EDITOR’S NOTE — In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
More than three hours after the killings, Burnsville Chief Matt Smith said officers were called to a home in his community, 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Hopkins, where they found a woman who had been fatally stabbed. He said investigators believe the two tragedies are linked, and that the man had been living at the home of the “close family relative.”
No names were released. Johnson said no clear motive had been determined yet and there was no history of police calls to the Hopkins address.
Johnson said it will take time for authorities to determine the timeline between the killings in Hopkins and Burnsville.
Amanda Marx, a nurse who lives across the street, didn’t realize anything was wrong until she noticed police officers trying to break down the home’s front door.
She said officers moved behind the house before reappearing and calling for crime scene tape. Later, several young children emerged — one being carried by an officer.
The brown, two-story house has a mural on the garage door of a tree-lined lake and a moose. Photos on the daycare’s Facebook page show kids playing with toys inside and in the backyard, with colorful decorations and artwork on the walls.
Marx said she and her 7-year-old son always referred to it as the “garage house” due to the colorful mural. The longtime resident said she’d never met the home’s owners and was unaware they were running Brown Bear Childcare out of the home. She didn’t recall any prior disturbances.
“I’m just trying to figure out how to explain to my 7-year-old why there’s crime scene tape on our deck,” she said.
Records show the daycare has been licensed by the state since 2019 and has a capacity of 10 children. It was found to be in compliance during visits in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Johnson said killings are a “rarity” in Hopkins and that his officers were shaken by the scene they found inside the home.
“I could see on the look on their faces that this was one of those ones that you’ll remember for your entire career, if not life,” Johnson said.
Rico reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.
Burnsville Police Chief Matt Smith, right, attends a news conference in Hopkins, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, where police said a man who killed his wife and their 7-year-old daughter at an in-home daycare is also suspected of killing a 78-year-old female relative. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon, flanked by Police Chief Brent Johnson, speaks at a news conference in Hopkins, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, where police said a man who killed his wife and their 7-year-old daughter at an in-home daycare is also suspected of killing a 78-year-old female relative. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Carly Danek)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Carly Danek)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Carly Danek)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Carly Danek)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Carly Danek)
Law enforcement respond to a call at a home daycare, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Hopkins, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
