In the spring of 2021, Honda announced plans to go fully electric in North America by 2040.
That’s not the most ambitious timeline, but the company revealed they’re working with General Motors to develop “two large-sized” electric crossovers based on the Ultium platform. One will be from Acura, while the other will be a Honda and both are slated to arrive in time for the 2024 model year.
Honda has revealed an assortment of details about their version of the crossover as the company has already confirmed it will be called the Prologue and have an initial annual sales target of 70,000 units. The automaker has also said the crossover will be aimed at ZEV states as well as Florida and Texas as these regions have “higher customer acceptance and regulatory requirements.”
Also Read: GM And Honda Teaming Up For Two New EVs, Will Be Based On Ultium Platform
Acura, on the other hand, has been relatively tight-lipped. However, that’s starting to change as Emile Korkor revealed some new details about their electrification strategy in an interview with Automotive News. During the discussion, Acura’s assistant vice president of U.S. sales told the publication, “We’re going much faster than the Honda brand in terms of our transition to electric vehicles as a percentage of sales.”
Korkor went on to say more than half of Acura sales could come from EVs by 2030, while Honda’s figure is expected to be closer to 40%. He also claimed Acura is going to “bypass hybrids altogether” and “very rapidly” shift to electric vehicles. Of course, it’s worth pointing out the company as already offered hybrids so they’re not really bypassing them altogether, just not making new ones.
The luxury brand is targeting annual sales of 30,000 units for their Ultium-based crossover and Automotive News noted that’s significantly better than the typical Acura, which normally only captures a tenth of sales compared to its Honda counterpart. The executive also hinted upcoming EVs will appeal to enthusiasts as “Acura is really focused on performance, and electrification is one of the greatest ways we can augment that performance.”
While Acura’s first electric vehicle will essentially be a GM crossover in disguise, Honda has already announced plans for a new e:Architecture that will underpin EVs starting in the second half of this decade. The automaker has also said solid-state batteries should arrive before 2030.
