2024 Honda Prologue Electric SUV Borrows Details From The Car America Can't Buy

Japanese automaker Honda is working towards its goal of manufacturing 30 new EV models by 2030. If everything goes according to plan, 40% of all Honda vehicles sold in North America by 2030 will be electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles, a number the company plans to up to 100% by 2040 (via Reuters). It's an ambitious target, and Honda has laid the groundwork to make it possible by committing to invest $46.3 billion in a span of six years to expand its EV lineup. Honda also teamed up with GM to make affordable electric vehicles that will probably be sold for less than $30,000 per unit. Honda is creating a joint venture with Sony to develop electric vehicles.

However, Honda E, currently the company's only all-electric vehicle, is not sold in the U.S. This is because Honda thinks the E's range isn't competitive in North America. But things are about to change now that released a design preview of its next electric vehicle model that will be sold in North America. 

The last time Honda previewed the design of the Honda Prologue SUV, in May 2022, it only released a rendered image. It has now dropped a video that captures a full-size clay model of what the Honda Prologue will look like. "The clay modeling process is still important to visualize our concept. We fine-tuned the body with a simple surface direction and fewer lines to improve range and basic scaling noise," the company notes in the video.

Beyond that, the front fascia of the Honda Prologue borrows the design of the Honda E — which is not available in the U.S. — but with dynamic bending headlights. It looks more rugged and comfortable with a longer wheelbase, short SUV-styled overhang, and aggressive tires that give it a modern sporty appearance. "The Prologue is the first product where Honda did the entire design using virtual reality visualization and it was a great tool for collaboration", says Jiro Ikeda, the project leader of Prologue's exterior design. This allowed Honda's design team in the U.S to collaborate virtually with the HQ team in Japan and simulate the EV in different virtual terrains to improve its style. 

The Honda Prologue is scheduled to be sold in 2024, and it will be built on GM's Ultium architecture similar to the Cadillac Lyriq.