Auto industry's Q2 performance plummets despite signs of recovery

Multiple automakers reported financial slides in the second quarter of 2020 as coronavirus-related impacts rippled throughout the global car industry despite signs of rebounding sales in multiple markets.

Honda forecast a 68% decrease in annual operating profit to a 10-year low with global demand for cars expected to slide because of the pandemic. Japan’s No. 3 automaker expects profit to sink to 200 billion yen ($1.89 billion) in the year to end-March 2021, its weakest since the 2010-11 year and undershooting analyst estimates.

Honda is bracing for a 6% decrease in annual vehicle sales after a 40% plunge in the June quarter, which resulted in a 113.7 billion yen ($1.1 billion) operating loss. The maker of the CR-V SUV crossover and the Fit compact hatchback expects to sell 4.5 million vehicles this year, versus 4.79 million last year. It predicts a 16% sales slide in North America, a key market where the United States is struggling to control a surge in virus infections.