The Japanese carmaker unveiled the brand’s first electric SUV on Thursday, marking a renewed push into fully electric vehicles to complement its hot-selling gas-electric hybrids. But the 2024 Prologue is only a half-step in Honda’s broader EV efforts. Co-developed with General Motors Co., it’s being built in a GM plant and shares key parts with GM models, including its Ultium batteries.
The rollout of the Prologue marks an about-face by Honda, which just last year doubted the extent to which American car buyers are interested in EVs. Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe now plans to sell 30 new battery-electric models globally — and deliver almost 500,000 EVs in North America alone — by 2030.
But its primary role may be to keep existing Honda buyers from fleeing the brand in search of a fully electric model.