Honda and Acura are moving further into electrification, and the company has given a peek into its future, which includes plans to offer some battery models for sale strictly online in the U.S.; and to bring back the Civic Hybrid in both sedan and hatchback form.
Globally, Honda will create a separate internal division for its electrification business development as of April 1, 2023, and pare back its current six regional operations to three. North America and China will remain as-is, but Japan, Asia & Oceania, South America and Europe, and Africa and the Middle East Region will be bundled into a division called Associated Regions. Electrification strategies will be tailored to each of the three regions.
In the U.S., Honda expects to sell up to 1.2 million vehicles in 2023, while Acura is forecast to reach 160,000 units. “Like the rest of the industry, we’re not completely out of the woods with supply issues yet, but we’re optimistic the Honda and Acura brands will achieve higher sales volumes this year,” said Mamadou Diallo, vice-president of sales for American Honda.
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In Canada, Honda sold 103,294 vehicles in 2022, while Acura sold 11,412, according to figures release by Automotive News Canada. That was down from 2021, when Honda sold 147,658, and Acura reached 16,401 units.
In 2022, Acura Canada confirmed its first fully-electric model will be the Acura ZDX sport-utility, which will come to market in 2024. There will also be a performance ZDX Type S variant. The automaker said Acura will “continue to be the tip of the spear for electrification and digitalization for Honda Canada.”
The ZDX is being co-developed with General Motors and will use that company’s EV-specific Ultium platform and batteries. The electric Honda Prologue, also scheduled to launch in 2024, will be similarly built. Starting in 2026, Acura will launch more models based on Honda’s own global platform, called e:Architecture.
2022 Honda Civic hatchback Photo by Honda
In a presentation to media, Diallo confirmed the automaker isn’t looking at the possibility of adding plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) to Honda’s lineup “in the near term.” He also confirmed that Acura won’t have hybrids or PHEVs at all, but will go straight to battery-only electrification.
According to a report from The Verge, American Honda has confirmed that all Acura EVs will only be sold online, starting with the ZDX, although dealerships will still be involved in the delivery process. We have reached out to Honda Canada to see if this will be the case north of the border as well.
In a release, Honda said it will launch an all-new Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid in early 2023, which will also mark the first application of Google Built-In in a Honda vehicle. The Civic Hybrid, in sedan and hatchback configuration, will return for 2024.
Keyword: Honda Civic Hybrid coming 2024, Acura skips straight to full EVs