The 11th-generation Honda Accord is coming to Australia, and will be offered exclusively with hybrid power.
Due here in the second quarter of 2024, the Accord will be offered in a single e:HEV RS trim.
Gone is the turbocharged 1.5-litre of the outgoing model, with the new Accord to come only with a 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine mated with a pair of electric motors.
While Honda hasn’t released any local specifications, in Thailand this powertrain produces 108kW of power and 182Nm from the petrol engine and 135kW and 335Nm from the electric motors, for a total system output of 152kW.
There’s more choice in the colour palette… provided you want something greyscale. The Accord will be offered only in Platinum White, Lunar Silver, Meteoroid Grey and Crystal Black.
It’ll be the first Honda in Australia to feature Google built-in, meaning an Android-based infotainment operating system with embedded Google apps. The new Accord uses a 12.3-inch touchscreen.
Our Accord is expected to continue to be sourced from Thailand.
There, the Accord offers a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, an 11.5-inch head-up display, and a multi-function dial in the centre stack can be used to control functions like the sound system, air-conditioning and lighting.
Other equipment available in Thailand includes LED active cornering lights, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, leather upholstery, multi-colour ambient lighting, a 12-speaker Bose sound system, dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charger, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
Honda Australia hasn’t confirmed pricing, but the outgoing Accord hybrid – offered in a single VTi-LX trim – is priced at $61,900 drive-away.
That’s considerably higher than the Accord’s arch-rival, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which tops out at $51,417 before on-road costs.
The 11th-generation Accord was revealed in November 2022 in North American-market guise, with the right-hand drive Japanese-market version finally unveiled in September 2023.
In December 2023, the new Accord was approved for sale in Australia.
With new orders of the Camry Hybrid paused for now and rivals like the Hyundai Sonata going without a hybrid option in Australia, the Accord effectively has this niche to itself.
However, the outgoing model has proved to be the lowest-volume vehicle in the mainstream mid-sized passenger car segment. Honda sold just 144 examples last year, less than half what the Sonata managed.
Even the pricier Peugeot 508 edged it out with 156 sales.
The new Accord will also have to contend with a new Camry which will also be hybrid-only in Australia and the US. It’s due locally in the second half of 2024.
MORE: Everything Honda Accord
