Honda Lawn Mowers dead, ending production and sales in the United States by 2023

If you want the reliability, performance, and value Honda’s walk-behind lawn mower, now’s the time to buy one.

According to a report from Rural Lifestyle Dealer covering an internal Honda Communication originally published on Oct 3, RLD’s confirmed that Honda will end Lawn Mower production at its North Carolina manufacturing facility and will exit the US lawn mower market by September 2023.

The opening paragraph from Honda’s Dealer Interactive Network memo reads,

“The company plans to discontinue production of lawn mowers at its North Carolina manufacturing facility in September 2023 and move all-terrain vehicle production there from its South Carolina facility. The South Carolina facility will “solely focus on Honda side-by-side production.”

Shocking as the news was, a UK-based publication brought the matter up to Honda UK and they confirmed much the same, the internal memo was true and Honda Lawn Mowers would be dead in the United States by Fall of 2023.

Honda did reassure Honda Mower product customers outside of the United States that,

“As reassurance within Europe, Honda Motor Europe will produce petrol lawn mowers at our Honda France manufacturing facility and are committed to produce the entire line up.”

European Honda lawn mower customers, you’re going to be A-OK.

As to why Honda is stopping production and sales of its popular mowers, the memo goes on to say,

“The decision to end lawn mower production is driven by market forces such as stricter environmental regulations, shifting customer preferences, and our focus on growing profitable products in our portfolio.”

California, the largest state both by population and GDP, infamously announced earlier this year they’re banning the sale of gas powered lawn equipment by 2024.

States like Hawaii and cities like Washington D.C. have also signed and passed similar legislation, banning gas powered lawn equipment in one or all forms.

With Honda out of the picture, fans and yard workers who prefer traditional gas powered lawn mowers will have one fewer brand to choose from at big box stores and elsewhere, at least in the United States.

Here’s a snapshot of the gas powered mowers available for pick-up as of this blog post at several Lowes stores in California, only four brands are available: Honda, Craftsman, Bolens, and Yard Machines.

It’s worth noting Bolens and Yard Machines are both part of the MTD Family of brands.

I chose another group of Lowes stores in the mid-West and the trend was similar, less than a handful of brands selling gas mowers.

According to Industry Select, Honda currently employees over 780 workers at their North Carolina facility, ranked 9 out of 10 by production workers making mower products in the U.S. alone.

Honda began development and production of lawn mowers in the mid-’50s, first entering the U.S. Market in 1978 with its HR21 walk-behind lawn mower.

2023 marks 45 years of Honda mower sales and service in the United States.