TOKYO, May 10 Reuters Honda Motor Co said on Friday it would increase RD spending this financial year by nearly a quarter to boost its competitive edge in hybrid and other electrified vehicles, as it forecast a 2.8 rise in operating profit for 202425.

Japan39;s secondlargest automaker by volume announced a share buyback worth up to 300 billion yen 1.93 billion after beating analysts39; fourth quarter earnings estimates, helped by strong sales growth in the United States, which offset a decline in China.

A weaker Japanese yen and robust hybrid model sales also contributed to Honda39;s profit.

The company forecast fullyear operating profit would rise to 1.42 trillion yen compared with an average profit estimate of 1.39 trillion yen in a poll of 22 analysts by LSEG.

Honda, which is a latecomer to purely electric vehicles that only run on a battery, plans to spend 1.19 trillion yen for research and development this year, up 23 from the previous year, it said.

Our current plan is to create an environment that allows us to produce 2 million hybrid models in a year by 2030, and we have been planning our business strategy taking into account necessary investment, CEO Toshihiro Mibe told reporters.

Operating profit for the three months to March 31 grew more than sixfold from a year earlier to 305.6 billion yen, well ahead of the 248.3 billion yen average expected by nine analysts.

Car makers are focusing more on hybrid vehicles as sales of fully electric vehicles…