The first product to come from General Motors and Honda’s electric car partnership has been teased.
The Honda Prologue is an SUV set to hit North American showrooms in 2023, underpinned by General Motors’ latest Ultium battery technology.
Honda plans to sell nearly 500,000 electric cars per year in North America by 2030, and has recently outlined its plans to get its US dealers ready for electric power.
When it launches, the Prologue will take on everything from the Tesla Model Y to the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
GM says its Ultium battery technology supports a total electric range of 724km, although it’s not clear what size battery is required to deliver that figure.
The General has recently released cars using its first-generation Ultium batteries. The new architecture’s rollout kicks off with the GMC Hummer range, with the Cadillac Lyriq to follow early 2022.
When it was announced, the Prologue was meant to be one of two General Motors-developed electric cars for Honda (the second will be an Acura), before the brand rolls out its e:Architecture in the second half of the 2020s.
But Honda and GM have also more recently committed to “co-developing a series of affordable electric vehicles based on a new global architecture using next-generation Ultium battery technology”.
This partnership is aiming to “enable global production of millions of EVs starting in 2027”, including small crossovers for both automakers.
According to GM and Honda, small crossovers are the world’s most popular vehicle type, and account for roughly 13 million sales annually.
GM vehicles on the new EV platform will be aimed at its core markets in North America, Latin America and China.
Honda didn’t provide any details about its product plans for the new architecture, although it’s probably safe to assume its vehicles will be designed with North America, Japan, China and Europe in mind.
Models on the e:Architecture will be launched in North America first before being made available elsewhere in the world.
No specifics about the platform, drivetrains or battery packs have been announced yet, but the automaker promises a “sense of unity between the driver and the vehicle” that’s supposedly “unique to Honda”, as well as a “sporty and exhilarating driving experience”.
