Explore American Honda’s journey to electric vehicle leadership
American Honda Motor Company Inc., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd., is committed to creating a future where everyone travels comfortably and safely with a smaller environmental footprint. With the support of AI capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, the automaker’s workforce is better organized to turn this vision into a reality.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Automotive | Torrance, California | 30,000 associates |
of those surveyed in the pilot were highly satisfied with using AI-enabled solutions.
of those surveyed in the pilot identified “efficiency” as the primary benefit of AI.
associates involved in the AI project.
Senior Vice President of Human Resources, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Automotive | Torrance, California | 30,000 associates |
of those surveyed in the pilot were highly satisfied with using AI-enabled solutions.
of those surveyed in the pilot identified “efficiency” as the primary benefit of AI.
associates involved in the AI project.
Senior Vice President of Human Resources, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
Rethinking workforce operations today for a more sustainable tomorrow
American Honda’s transformation from the world’s largest internal combustion engine maker to a leading battery electric vehicle (EV) company is nothing short of monumental. This shift from producing 14 million combustion engines a year to an all-electric lineup means rethinking nearly every part of its operations.
“It’s exciting to see what’s ahead—and equally daunting,” reflects Rich Richardson, senior vice president of Human Resources at American Honda. “It’s my team’s role to help propel the business forward and overcome complex challenges, including fluctuating market demands, evolving regulations, and shifting consumer interests.”
And along the way, flexibility and agility are nonnegotiable necessities for American Honda. Guided by its “Triple Action to Zero” commitment, the company is steadfast in its vision of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. But to stay on course, it needed advanced tools to enable a skilled workforce that can adapt to change rapidly and work as a dynamic, future-ready team capable of navigating this bold, electrified future.
HR Data and Technology Manager, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
Steering workforce management with integration, automation, and AI
American Honda’s goal of leading the electric motor industry sector required a reimagining of its HR processes. To support this shift, the automaker consolidated the multiple HR and timekeeping systems used across its 13 North American entities into a single, scalable HR system with SAP SuccessFactors solutions. This unified, cloud-based HR environment simplifies tasks and provides real-time workforce data for strategic planning and skill-gap analysis.
At the core of the company’s HR model is a shift to skills-based workforce management to help ensure efficient upskilling and reskilling across business units to meet EV production demands. This transformation is being achieved with a suite of SAP SuccessFactors solutions, covering core HR and payroll processes, associate recruiting and onboarding, learning and development, and succession management.
With the addition of business AI capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors solutions through the Joule copilot, American Honda automated repetitive tasks—such as goal creation and compensation insights—to free HR associates for more-strategic roles. Its council for responsible AI also helps ensure ethical application and strong data privacy standards as the company advances its AI capabilities. By prioritizing high-impact AI use cases, it adopted a “crawl, walk, run” approach to enable agile and effective workforce support.
As valuable as the technology is to its EV strategy, American Honda also recognized that implementing new technology, in general, can present challenges. The company turned to the SAP Preferred Success offering for proactive, expert guidance to smooth the implementation experience with improved efficiency and minimal disruption. With hands-on support throughout key deployments, such as accelerating the setup of Joule by half a day, American Honda maximized its investment in SAP SuccessFactors solutions and positioned itself for long-term success.
Building a future-ready workforce with targeted strategies
American Honda’s adoption of SAP SuccessFactors has brought measurable improvements across its operations, workforce, and culture. So far, it has streamlined its HR processes, helped eliminate redundancies, and created a single source of data insights for its 30,000-person North American workforce. This centralization also empowers its HR team to make data-driven decisions that support workforce planning and talent development.
“This transformation isn’t just about the cars we build; it’s about building a future-ready workforce,” says Richardson. “Workshops focused on upskilling, data management, and AI integration have further helped associates transition from traditional manufacturing roles to new opportunities in EV production.”
AI capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors—such as AI-assisted goal creation and compensation insights—have played a critical role too. “AI with SAP SuccessFactors gives our associates the flexibility to gain efficiencies and focus on strategic initiatives,” explains Grimminger. “More than 80% of those surveyed in the pilot were highly satisfied with these tools, with 90% citing ‘efficiency’ as the top benefit.”
HR Data and Technology Manager, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
Shaping the future with adaptive and associate-centric AI strategies
Looking ahead, the automaker is committed to driving continuous innovation and optimization through the combination of SAP SuccessFactors and AI. While technologies such as Joule and generative AI will continue to play a role, American Honda’s vision extends far beyond writing assistance or answering questions. The company is also focused on embedding AI-driven recommendations throughout the entire talent management suite to support associates in achieving their career goals and mobility aspirations.
A key milestone in this journey will be the adoption of a talent intelligence hub, which infuses skills intelligence across workforce management. By shifting to a skills-based organization, American Honda aims to personalize learning and development, helping associates identify growth opportunities and understand where they stand in terms of their skills.
“Our focus will be on use cases that provide the most benefit to associates,” notes Grimminger. “This means American Honda will continuously assess feedback, adjust its AI road map, and pivot as needed to align with evolving business needs.”
As more capabilities emerge, the company aims to remain adaptable and ready to incorporate AI features that make associates’ roles more fulfilling and efficient—preparing its workforce to thrive in an ever-evolving industry. Concrete steps—including workshops on skills-based talent management—have already been taken to deliver AI-driven recommendations and create an internal “opportunity marketplace,” where associates can personalize their career paths, find upskilling opportunities, and engage actively with plans for their strategic development.
Richardson concludes, “For us, creating a supportive environment where associates can thrive isn’t a onetime achievement; it’s an ongoing endeavor. With SAP SuccessFactors, American Honda is not only accelerating its journey to become a leader in electric motors but also fostering an innovative, adaptable workforce that’s ready to power the future of mobility.”
Want to know more about American Honda’s journey?
Customers Accelerate HR Journeys to Gain Edge on Efficiency and Skills (SAP News Center)