Honda unveils the Prologue, its first electric SUV

Honda has unveiled the design of the Prologue, its first electric SUV and a vehicle codeveloped with General Motors.

Like most of its Japanese peers in the auto industry, Honda has been a laggard when it comes to all-electric vehicles.

The automaker focused too much on hydrogen fuel cells and hybrids, which resulted in a very small offering of all-electric models and virtually nothing in North America.

Since Honda stopped production of the Clarity Electric in 2019, the automaker had no all-electric vehicle in the US.

For years now, Honda has been teasing its first new EV, the Prologue, codeveloped with GM.

Today, Honda finally fully unveiled the design of the Prologue:

Honda today offered the first look at the exterior and interior styling of the all-new Honda Prologue battery-electric SUV that will come to market in North America in 2024. The Prologue design features clean and simple “Neo-Rugged” exterior and interior styling and ample interior space that’s ready for adventure inside and outside the city limits.

Here’s the exterior design of the Honda Prologue:

Here’s the interior design of the Honda Prologue electric SUV:

Honda did release some more details about the design in a press release, including the fact that it’s going to be bigger than its popular CR-V:

Prologue was conceived as a modern and fresh design that will feel at home in the showroom with existing Honda SUVs. Prologue’s generous dimensions and roomy interior position the SUV alongside the Passport in Honda’s light truck lineup. Prologue will have a wheelbase of 121.8-inches, and is about 8-inches longer and 5-inches wider than the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V.

The Prologue will have a generous interior, which will provide ample space for passengers and cargo. Showcasing a tech-rich cabin, the Prologue will have a standard fully digital 11-inch driver display panel and an 11.3-inch audio/connectivity display.

Here are the dimensions of the Prologue:

Unfortunately, Honda didn’t release the specs of the Prologue, though it is expected to be something similar to the Chevy Blazer EV since Honda is using GM’s Ultium EV platform.

There’s still plenty of time for that information to come out since the electric SUV is not scheduled to hit the market until 2024.

Electrek’s Take

It looks sharp. It’s not a bad-looking SUV.

However, I think Honda is flirting with bankruptcy with its EV plan.

The automaker released this timeline for its electric vehicles in North America:

• 2024: Begin sales of the Honda Prologue, co-developed with GM
• 2026: Begin sales of Honda models based on Honda e:Architecture to be produced by Honda in North America. 
• 2027: Begin sales of a new series of affordable EVs codeveloped with GM, also produced by Honda in North America.

Nothing until 2024 – and that’s something using GM’s technology – and then its own EV built from the ground up won’t come until 2026.

To me, that sounds like too little too late, and they are basically giving up on the North American market. By 2026, I don’t think there’s going to be anyone in their right mind that would buy anything else than an all-electric vehicle if they are in the market for a new car.

It doesn’t sound like Honda is going to be ready for that.

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