Honda lowers profit, vehicle sales forecast over chip crunch

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda has lowered its profit and vehicle sales forecasts for the fiscal year, pointing to a supply crunch in chips and rising material costs. Honda recorded a 31% drop from last year in its fiscal second quarter profit, to $1.5 billion. Honda Executive Vice President Seiji Kuraishi apologized to customers and said a recovery likely won’t come in this fiscal year. Tokyo-based Honda expects a 555 billion yen ($4.9 billion) profit for the fiscal year through March 2022. It expects to sell 4.2 million vehicles, down from an earlier forecast for 4.85 million vehicles. It sold 4.5 million vehicles in the last fiscal year.