Honda has revealed the name of its first electric vehicle that will go on sale in the United States in early 2024. The Honda Prologue will be one of two large battery-electric SUVs the company will introduce in North America, the other being offered under an Acura badge.
Both the Prologue and as-yet unnamed Acura model will be the first models to come about from the automaker’s strategic partnership with General Motors. Aside from the name reveal, no details were offered, but the company said that more specific details about the new vehicle will be released over the coming months.
What is known is that the vehicles will be underpinned by GM’s modular EV platform and utilise the American brand’s Ultium battery tech. However, the exteriors and interiors of both models will be done by Honda for some degree of consistency with the rest of its product line-up.
The company said that the Prologue, as its name suggests, will usher its transition to electrification, which will eventually lead to the introduction of a new series of EV models in the second half of the decade. These will be based on the brand’s new e:Architecture global modular EV platform, which is expected to be used in a variety of body-styles ranging from crossovers to sedans. These models will eventually find their way to other markets worldwide.
With the Prologue some distance away, Honda says it will continue introducing hybrid systems to more core models as a means to bridge customers to the inevitable shift. “We know customers who have a good experience with a hybrid vehicle are more likely to buy a battery electric vehicle in the future. Our strategy is focused on introducing a higher percentage of hybrids in core models in the near term, leading to the introduction of the Prologue,” said Dave Gardner, executive VP of American Honda.
In April, the automaker’s new president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said that the brand is planning to increase its EV and fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCV) model range to 40% in major markets such as the US and China by 2030. This will then be expanded to 80% by 2035, and then to 100% globally by 2040.
