Honda Reveals the Prologue Electric SUV
Honda steps up its EV game in a partnership with GM.
Honda released the first design preview of the all-new 2024 Prologue. Developed in collaboration with GM, this all-electric SUV is the company’s first high-volume EV, and the second EV since the demise of the Honda Clarity sedan. Honda says the 2024 Honda Prelude will appeal to buyers looking for a daily driver or a vehicle for weekend getaways.
Designed jointly by teams in Los Angeles and Japan, the Prologue shows off a bold stance and a clean look. The company says the front fascia takes cues from the Honda e, its electric city car marketed in Europe and Japan. The Prologue features a long wheelbase and a shorter overhang.
The new Prologue kicks off the brand’s foray into electrification. Honda plans to manufacture 30 new EVs globally by 2030, with a total goal of 2 million units. The company expects to sell approximately 500,000 units in North America.
“We announced a plan two years ago, positioned as a smart strategy, to co-develop an electric vehicle with GM,” said Mamadou Diallo, American Honda’s vice president of sales, in a press release. “What will result is not just a more efficient process, but a great looking new vehicle, the Honda Prologue.”
Restrictions on travel during the COVID pandemic required Honda’s design teams in the United States and Japan to collaborate virtually. According to Honda, the designers focused on clean lines and aerodynamics. Reducing surface direction and lines allowed them to increase the Prologue’s driving range and reduce cabin noise.
“As the project leader for the exterior design of the Honda Prologue, it was very exciting to work with a young team of designers with new capabilities to create an SUV with clean, simple lines and a strong influence from our global EV models, including the Honda e,” said Jiro Ikeda, Exterior Design Leader in a statement. “We balanced that with a neo-rugged look that you see in our current lineup to ensure Prologue represents a true Honda EV.”
Honda will work closely with dealers to help them serve customers in a changing landscape, including new dealership designs with configurable spaces that reflect the way today’s buyers shop. The automaker notes that dealers will need less inventory to support sales. Honda will require dealers to install specific quantities of EV charging stations, depending on their expected sales volume through 2030. “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,” said Diallo.
Honda has yet to announce pricing or a release date yet. According to Car and Driver, the 2024 Honda Prologue should be available in late 2024 and carry a starting price of approximately $45,000.