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‘Second Founding’: With Prologue EV, Honda starts its all-electric journey
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 6, 2024
Healdsburg, California — General Motors Co. isn’t the only mainstream Midwest auto manufacturer going zero, zero, zero.
Honda Motor Co. built its reputation as one of the world’s premier internal combustion engine makers, yet it is one of the industry’s most aggressive advocates for a battery-powered, net-zero carbon emissions future. In what the Japanese company refers to internally as the “Second Founding,” it plans to put its storied ICE history in the rear-view mirror by 2040 on a mission, it says, to save the planet by converting to electric and hydrogen vehicles.
The Honda Prologue — presciently named to introduce an all-EV model lineup — was test-driven by media here in January and will enter dealerships by spring. It will be followed in 2026 by production versions of Honda’s “0 Series” EV line — beginning with the exotic Saloon concept introduced Jan. 9 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Like GM, Honda said it is committed to a zero emissions, zero traffic fatalities future (though its “zero, zero” mantra doesn’t extend to GM’s third, “zero congestion” commitment to fully autonomous vehicles).
“Internally at Honda, we talk about the Second Founding of Honda as a reset — a switching of our mind about embracing electric vehicles and making sure every associate has an opportunity to contribute to a fundamental change in Honda from an engine company to an electrified company,” said John Hwang, product development leader for the Prologue EV.
John Hwang, product development chief for the 2024 Honda Prologue EV, introduces the SUV to media in Healdsburg, California. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Toshihiro Mibe was named CEO three years ago to carry out this mission. That means big changes for Honda’s sprawling Midwest operations, including construction of a $4 billion battery facility with LG Chem for EVs that will replace the best-selling gas-powered CR-Vs and Accords that Honda has assembled in Ohio since 2007 and 1982, respectively.
Honda said hybrid versions of the CR-V and Accord (and coming, Indiana-assembled Civic) are a bridge to an all-electric lineup, but EVs can require a significant change in lifestyle for mainstream buyers. EVs like the Prologue require investment in home chargers and much longer fueling times than their ICE peers. As a result, they are generally bought by an affluent demographic with multi-car garages.
Unlike Tesla and its re-imagined interiors, the 2024 Honda Prologue EV deliberately echoes the interior of gas engines to make the transition to its electric vehicles easier for buyers. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With stops for charging, the 296-mile range Prologue, for example, would need 13.5 hours to make a trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas compared to an ICE car’s 10 hours. That requires a large, 85 kWh battery pack, which adds considerable cost, making the $49K-$59K Prologue the most expensive Honda — with a price range in the neighborhood of luxe models like the Cadillac Lyriq and Tesla Model Y Performance.
“What makes a natural transition to EVs is if you own a house with a Level 2 charger,” Hwang said. “Everyone understands the (high price) structure of electric vehicles. We want to introduce Prologue in a segment that is very high volume, high popularity — and that’s what dictates its pricing. When you compare it to its natural competitors — the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra, Nissan Ariya and Volkswagen ID.4, Prologue is very competitive.”
To help consumers adopt EVs, the 2024 Honda Prologue offers three charging plans: 1) a 240-volt home charging station + $500 installation credit + $100 in public charging credits, 2) a portable charger + $250 installation credit + $300 public charging credits, or 3) $50 in public charging credits. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
S&P Global analyst Stephanie Brinley noted that “Prologue is priced for where the EV market is right now.” She said that Honda’s stab at the affordable, entry-level EV in Europe with the 137-mile, compact Honda e just went up in flames: “The e was too expensive and didn’t have enough range. Honda never brought it to the U.S. because it was too small. And small EVs like the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf haven’t done as well as pricier models.”
The luxury segment makes up just 15% of the U.S. market and EV sales are around 8% market share — much of it concentrated here in affluent parts of California — indicating a struggle to reach larger, mainstream demographics where Honda has prospered.
“The challenge of selling EVs to 8-10% of the population gets more challenging every day,” said Karl Brauer, veteran auto analyst with iSeeCars.com. “And that’s the demographic that has experience with EVs. Honda will not be immune.”
As Honda charges up its Second Founding, other brands are pumping the brakes on their electric ambitions as EV adoption hits market headwinds. Hertz has nixed plans to buy 100,000 EVs and is selling off battery-powered vehicles in its fleet. Four years after GM announced on “EV Day” its commitment to go all-electric by 2035, CEO Mary Barra told investors in January the Detroit automaker would resurrect gas-hybrid models to meet market demand and government regulations.
“What I am hearing from Honda is what I heard from GM in 2020,” said Brauer, “and now GM has been forced to pivot back to gas engines.”
The 2024 Honda Prologue EV was introduced to media for a test drive in California, where strict regulations will force automakers to sell only EVs by 2035. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Honda, however, says its commitment transcends government regulations that other automakers, from GM to Subaru Corp. to Stellantis NV, say are driving their battery investments.
“Honda philosophically has always been about protecting the environment … with the products we make,” Hwang said. “‘Blue Skies for the Children’ is one of our taglines, so it felt natural that we accelerate our zero-carbon emissions products. Our timeline is 2040 in North America to be fully zero carbon.”
Soichiro Honda started what became Honda Motor Co. in 1946, making motorized bicycles by attaching two-stroke gas engines. Its brand subsequently became synonymous with great ICEs, including the high-revving VTEC four-cylinder engines in Honda Civics in the early 2000s and the 950-horsepower hybrids that have made Red Bull a Formula One superpower.
Honda archives headline the 1974 Civic as the first car in the U.S. market to satisfy government emissions rules that strangled Detroit automakers’ large vehicles.
“Honda has always been an engineering company with an eye on the environment,” Brinley said. “They like to make big engineering statements.”
Honda’s reset echoes other fossil fuel icons that are remaking themselves. England’s Jaguar Cars, famed maker of purring V-12 engines, is going all-EV by 2030. The Rockefeller Foundation, its $6 billion endowment funded by Standard Oil — which fueled the 20th century Detroit auto boom — has committed to net zero and divested of all fossil fuel industries.
Honda’s plan contrasts with Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., which has resisted an all-electric future despite its pioneering Prius hybrid that single-handedly created the green vehicle segment two decades ago. Chairman Akio Toyoda said he thinks the market ceiling for EV sales is 30%, and the company is committed to a mix of gas/hybrid/electric/hydrogen powertrains.
Toyota’s business model has enraged global climate activists, who last year wrote a letter to the company leadership claiming that “Toyota’s refusal to lead a rapid transition to electric vehicles … harms consumers.”
Analyst Brauer said Toyota didn’t get to be the world’s biggest automaker without understanding market tastes. “Bet against Toyota if you want,” he said. “But anyone who has — has lost.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.