How Honda Plans to Dominate the EV Market in the US

Based on an online presentation from Honda in April of this year, we’ve been given a pretty good idea of how Honda plans to get into and dominate the US electric vehicle market. The plan stretches to 2040 and shows an optimistic future for Honda-made hybrid and electric vehicle creation and sales.

So what exactly is Honda planning, and when will we get to see the EVs as part of a Honda dealer’s stock in the United States? It could be sooner than you think.

Honda Sets its EV Timeline

The automaker plans to start with gas-electric hybrids like the CR-V, Accord, and Civic as a transition toward full electrification. CR-V hybrids are already on the market this year, and more are coming in the next few years.

Then, starting around 2024, battery-powered electric vehicles from Honda will begin hitting the American market. These vehicles will be made as part of a collaboration between Honda and GM. The first to hit the market will be the Prologue SUV, which will use the same batteries and motors as the GMC Hummer.

Vehicles developed with Honda e:Architecture will be introduced starting in 2026, and manufacturing will move to North American plants.

From that point, there are fewer specific plans. Still, a statement by the company ends with this: “Honda will deploy 30 EV models by 2030, with more than two-thirds of those launched in China and North America.”

Sales Goals and Honda’s Vision for the Future

Honda wants to be carbon-neutral in all its products and activities by 2050 by producing and increasing sales of battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles. As part of that, the automaker has set a goal to have 100% of North American sales be electric vehicles by 2040.

While that sounds far away, it’s still going to be an immense change for Honda dealer locations as the percentage of EV sales goes up in the next decade. For example, Honda’s initial sales target for the Prologue is set at 70,000 units per year – which will likely mean replacing one of their current gas-only vehicles in production.

Speaking of production, Honda isn’t planning to collaborate with GM forever. To stand out as an EV automaker, Honda will put over three billion dollars into electrification and software technology research in the next decade alone. The company also announced in March of this year that it would partner with Sony to develop electric cars that should begin showing up on the market in 2025.

Honda’s move toward electrification is one that many automakers have been making in the last decade. But will it happen soon enough for Honda to become a leader in the rapidly-growing EV market? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, start looking for some of the vehicles that Honda is sending out to Honda dealers already: the CR-V hybrid model this year, hybrid Accords and Civics coming soon, and the company’s first BEV, the Prologue, is scheduled for release in 2024.