Adventure-ready Honda Prologue EV coming in 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: Back in 2020, the two auto giants Honda and General Motors came together and signed an association to co-develop and share common platforms for their future EVs. Fast forward to today, the first derivative of this tie-up, the Honda Prologue, makes an official appearance in the form of a teaser.

Here’s what we know so far about the upcoming Honda Prologue EV -

• The Prologue electric crossover is the first of two vehicles that the Japanese automaker will co-develop with GM using the latter’s ultium battery packs. 
• It borrows significant design cues from the Honda e. 
• The neo-rugged front fascia sports slender LED headlights and a fully enclosed grille with a trapezoidal air dam and vertical fog lamp housings.

• The SUV has been designed at the Honda Design Studio located in LA in collaboration with a design team in Japan. The designers have fine tuned the EV in a way to improve range and reduce cabin noise. 
• No details on the EV’s cabin yet, but we can expect a simple, uncluttered cockpit with enough colour displays, the latest connectivity, ADAS and safety features.
• Under the skin, the Utltium platform will feature a floor-mounted modular battery design that will be able to accommodate a battery pack up to 200 kWh with a driving range of 480 kms
• Different drive systems - FWD, RWD or AWD are likely to be on offer as per the target customers 
• The pure electric Prologue will go on sale in 2024 in North America.

“We announced a plan two years ago, positioned as a smart strategy, to co-develop an electric vehicle with GM. What will result is not just a more efficient process, but a great looking new vehicle, the Honda Prologue,” said Mamadou Diallo, vice president of Auto Sales, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. 

In related news, Honda shed some light on its planning to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The brand has made an aggressive timeline of EV introductions in the US, which includes three phases 

• 2024: Honda Prologue sales commencement
• 2026: Honda EVs based on its own e:Architecture production and sales commencement
• 2027: A new series of affordable EVs, based on a new vehicle platform to be developed in association with GM

By completing these phases, the company will be selling around 500,000 electric vehicles in North America by 2030.

To turn these plans into reality, Honda is also working hard to make a strong dealer network for the distribution and service of its upcoming BEVs. 

It has come up with a new dealership facility design that will offer dealers a modular and flexible space reflecting the ways in which customers purchase vehicles. The automaker is also taking care of EV charging stations installed at the dealers’ space and providing guidelines for the requirement of different types of special tools and equipment needed to service Honda electric vehicles.

Also read: All-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R is on its way