Honda teases Prologue EV alongside plans to hasten lumbering electrification strategy

Honda Motor Co. released a sketch of its upcoming Prologue electric SUV co-developed with GM – its first vehicle designed primarily using virtual reality visualization technology. Additionally, Honda shared an update to its EV sale strategy that includes three separate phases on its path to introduce 30 EVs globally by the end of the decade.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is a legacy automaker that has inevitably ended up joining its competitors in sharing goals to expand electrification, originally vowing to deliver 100% electrified sales by 2040. It’s important to note the difference between “electrified” and “pure electric,” since a large portion of Honda’s electrification strategy still includes Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles (HFCVs) and hybrids.

As for 100% electric vehicles, Honda has yet to deliver a single one to North America. Despite its previous public skepticism of prospective BEV sales, Honda does plan to deliver its first all-electric volume model in the Prologue.

This all-electric SUV will be based on GM’s Ultium electric platform and is scheduled to arrive in 2024 alongside an all-electric Acura SUV. Even so, Honda has only committed to an annual combined capacity of 70,000 units for these two EVs up to this point.

Today Honda teased a sketch of the upcoming Prologue SUV and shared an update to accelerate its already lackluster plans to go all-electric.

Honda offers stopgap for EV strategy beginning with Prologue

Alongside the animated rendering of the Prologue, Honda shared updated phases for its EV sales strategy for North America, all delivered in a press release. Mamadou Diallo, vice president of Auto Sales, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (what a title) spoke to the design of the Prologue with GM and about the automaker’s future:

We announced a plan two years ago, positioned as a smart strategy, to co-develop an electric vehicle with GM. What will result is not just a more efficient process, but a great looking new vehicle, the Honda Prologue. Our dealers are excited about Prologue and the fact that it is just the first volume Honda EV, with more Honda engineered EVs we will begin building in North America coming to market in 2026.

For North America in particular, Honda shared the following three-phase timeline of EV introductions through 2030:

• 2024: Begin Honda Prologue sales
• 2026: Begin production and sales of Honda models based on the new e:Architecture
• 2027: Begin production and sales of a new series of affordable EVs, based on a new vehicle architecture co-developed with GM

Honda states that as a result of these three phases rolling out, it plans to sell 500,000 EVs in North America by 2030. Slow down guys. For reference, Tesla delivered 310,000 EVs in Q1 of 2022 alone.

If that news wasn’t exciting enough, Honda announced an update to its dealership facilities, offering new modular spaces that will include the necessary EV charging infrastructure based on each individual dealer’s sales.

Honda’s “accelerated” strategy begins with the Prologue in 2024, get your sand clocks out.