(Yicai) Jan. 10 -- Honda Motor's sales tumbled by more than 30 percent in China last year, leading the Japanese auto giant to ramp up its electrification transformation in the country.

Honda's retail sales fell 31 percent to 850,000 units in China last year from the previous one, the Tokyo-based carmaker said yesterday. Its sales dropped 33 percent to 110,000 units last month from a year earlier.

Honda is increasingly focusing on its electric vehicle strategy to align with the global trends of electrification and intelligence, the firm noted. The fiscal years from 2026 to 2030 will serve as the transition phase from traditional fuel to fully electric autos, it said.

Honda reportedly plans to link arms with Huawei Technologies in the Chinese market, but neither firm has responded to such reports.

Starting last February, Honda's China sales have seen a year-on-year drop for 11 consecutive months, tumbling by over 40 percent in July, August, and September. The company's joint ventures in China, Dongfeng Honda Automobile and GAC Honda Automobile, adopted a volume pricing strategy through their dealerships to boost terminal sales.

Honda's operating profit fell 15 percent to JPY257.9 billion (USD1.6 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year ago, a first drop over the past seven quarters, according to its financial report. The decline was mainly due to weaker sales in Southeast Asia and China, with its passenger car sales in the Chinese market plunging 43 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev