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Honda builds motorcycles, cars, and power equipment like generators and lawnmowers, and also makes airplanes and boat engines.
Honda is a giant Japanese manufacturer with two big, distinct businesses: it builds vehicles, and it builds engines and machines that go into all sorts of other things. Most people know Honda for its cars — Civics, Accords, CR-Vs — and its motorcycles, which it sells all over the world. But the company also makes a huge range of "power products": generators, lawnmowers, boat engines, and even small business jets through its HondaJet line. Customers are ordinary drivers and riders, plus businesses and farmers who need reliable equipment.
Think of it as a company that's really an engine company wearing different hats. Cars and motorcycles are the biggest money-makers — together they bring in the vast majority of revenue. The car business is the largest slice, while motorcycles are a smaller but very profitable part, especially in Asia where Honda sells millions of small bikes. Power equipment and the aircraft business are smaller pieces, but they show off Honda's engineering skills and help spread its bets. Honda has been pushing hard into electric vehicles and hybrids recently, partnering with other automakers and investing heavily in battery and software technology, because the car world is shifting away from gasoline. Honda was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda, who started with motorized bicycles and turned it into a global powerhouse. The company pours its free cash into research and development, new EV platforms, and its racing and robotics projects — it even built a famous humanoid robot called ASIMO. It also pays dividends and buys back shares to keep investors happy. The big question hanging over Honda today is whether it can keep its reputation for reliability and fun-to-drive engineering while the whole industry switches to electric power.
Saved answer · last researched 16 Oct 2026
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