We already knew that Honda was hard at work on its first all-electric vehicle, and that it will be the result of a partnership with General Motors (GM). This week we learned what name it will adopt: Prologue.
Scheduled to be released in 2024, the Honda Prologue will make use of the Ultium batteries earmarked for GM's future electric vehicles, such as the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq, among others.
Honda isn’t yet saying anything about the size or format of the Prologue, but it’s very likely that it will enter a popular segment, so that of either compact or mid-size SUVs. The powertrain and platform will be made from GM components. Dave Gardner, Honda's executive vice president, said the main differentiators between the Prologue and GM's electric vehicles will be in the “top half” of the vehicle, in other words the body design and the interior design.
Honda says the Prologue name was chosen to indicate that this is but the first of many electric vehicles to come. The automaker's luxury brand Acura will also get a version of the model in 2024, but the name of that variant has yet to be announced. Honda has said it expects electric and fuel cell (hydrogen) vehicles to account for 40 percent of its new vehicle sales by 2030, 80 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2040.
While the arrival of this model is great news and essential for Honda, 2024 is still far away. The competition is already offering models in the format or will soon do so – think of Ford with its Mach E, Volkswagen with its ID.4, Nissan with its Ariya, Hyundai with the Ioniq 5 and Kia with the EV6.