TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Honda ( HMC ) warned on

Thursday it would tumble to a loss of as much as $3.6 billion

this year, hit by the widening cost of restructuring its

struggling EV business.

Japan's second-largest automaker becomes the latest global

car company to warn of a multi-billion dollar hit due to cooling

demand for EVs, especially in the United States.

Under President Donald Trump, Washington has pulled the plug

on government support for EVs, forcing the likes of Ford

and Stellantis ( STLA ) to rethink their strategies.

Honda ( HMC ) CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference the

automaker would scrap development of some planned EV models and

instead put more effort into hybrids, demand for which has

surged in the United States and elsewhere.

The Japanese automaker now expects to lose as much as 570

billion yen ($3.6 billion) in the year to the end of March,

versus a previous forecast for a profit of 550 billion yen.

In a statement, the company said it expects to incur as much

as 2.5 trillion yen in expenses and losses over multiple

financial years due to the strategy shift.

Mibe and Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara will

voluntarily forego the equivalent of 30% of their compensation

for three months while some other executives will forego 20%,

the automaker added.

Honda ( HMC ) plans to announce a revamped mid-to-long-term business

strategy in the next fiscal year.

($1=158.9400 yen)