We expect it to take the form of a three-row electric SUV to rival the Kia EV9.
Honda has announced that it will launch a mid- to large-size electric model in the United States in 2025, with this vehicle being based on its very own EV platform, as part of a larger presentation on the company's plans for the next few years. This will mark a shift from the Honda Prologue electric SUV that will arrive here a year earlier, as that vehicle has been developed in collaboration with General Motors and is based on the Ultium platform that also underpins models like the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq.
The larger EV from Honda will be based on the company's e:Architecture platform and will use an original OS with more advanced in-vehicle software. While nothing more was shared about this new EV, it's very likely a larger two- or three-row SUV.
The Prologue is already a fairly sizable mid-size electric SUV and eight inches longer than the CR-V, so the unnamed vehicle is likely to slot in above this. An electric alternative to the three-row Pilot sounds like something sensible for this market while giving Honda a direct rival to models like the upcoming Kia EV9.
Earlier this month, Honda revealed a couple of EV prototypes at Auto Shanghai 2023. Although these are a separate lineup of EVs destined for the Chinese market, there is always the chance that they could preview the styling of US-bound models. If the design of Honda's own EVs seems a little conservative, there is also the company's upmarket AFEELA brand that will launch in 2026 through a collaboration with Sony.
The Prologue will arrive at around the same time as its Acura sibling, the ZDX. Since new Honda and Acura products are often developed in tandem, it's possible that a larger Acura three-row SUV is also on the cards for the USA.
For the larger EV coming to the USA, the company is working hard on what it calls "software-defined mobility," whereby software guides the importance of hardware and not the other way around. It's an approach to developing new cars that is being echoed throughout the industry, as Volvo's deputy CEO also said recently that "brainlifts" will become more important than facelifts. In essence, these new EVs must be future-proof and able to add new functionality over their lifecycles.
Key to Honda's EV plans will be local production, and it has already joined forces with LG Energy for the establishment of a battery production plant here.
Elsewhere, Honda is also rapidly accelerating its electrification plans. An EV based on the N-One is arriving in Japan in 2025, with two smaller EVs including an SUV reaching that market in 2026. The large China market will also receive 10 new EVs by 2027.
Between its own EVs, the partnership with GM, and AFEELA, Honda certainly seems to be covering all its bases in the EV space after falling behind rivals like Hyundai and Ford in this arena.
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