Even Honda is pivoting to data centers

Honda this week began production of batteries destined for energy storage systems, according to a report from Nikkei Asia. The milestone makes Honda the latest car company to dive into the red-hot energy market. The automaker’s shift toward energy storage comes three months after Honda canceled its EV programs in the U.S. Batteries for the EVs were slated to be made at a factory in Ohio, which Honda operates under a joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Now, those cells are headed to data centers instead of driveways. Honda’s pivot comes as demand for EVs in the U.S. remains soft following the GOP’s cancellation of tax credits, which were intended to spur EV and battery production in the U.S. Sales of new EVs remain down year-over-year, in part because consumers pulled forward their purchases to take advantage of the tax credits, which disappeared last September. That uncertainty led Honda to dramatically shift gears, canceling three EVs that were destined for the U.S. market. The automaker wrote down $15.7 billion last fiscal year, in part to restructure its EV strategy. Its weakening China business, where EVs have soared, also contributed to the write-down. But despite the restructuring, Honda didn’t dissolve its joint venture with LG Energy. And like seemingly every other automaker , including Tesla, Ford, and GM, Honda decided that batteries are a big business on their own. …