Originally announced at the end of June, the new SUV will ride on a dedicated electric car platform based on the Ultium architecture developed by General Motors. Honda is now announcing it has set an annual sales target of 70,000 units for the Prologue, which won’t hit the market until 2024 when it will be followed later that year by a mechanically related Acura electric SUV.

The new EV will kick-start an electric revolution at Honda, which aims to sell 500,000 cars without combustion engines by the end of the decade. Come 2040, the automaker estimates that its North American portfolio will exclusively feature EVs. To get there, the Prologue needs to be a success in an increasingly competitive electric car market as more and more models are either going on sale or being announced.

Little else is known about the SUV, but it’s expected to be built by GM at the Ramos Arizpe, Mexic while the slightly smaller Acura model might be assembled in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The two EVs will inherit the Ultium battery packs from other GM products, such as the Cadillac Lyriq and the GMC Hummer EV.

It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume the Prologue will be able to cover more than 300 miles between cycles considering the Lyriq comes with a large 100-kWh battery pack. Rumor has it the electric SUV has been designed at Honda’s design studio in Los Angeles to cater to North American tastes and make sure it’s vastly different in terms of appearance than GM products.

Some say the Prologue will have three rows of seats, which could mean the performance-oriented luxury Acura variant could come strictly with two rows, but nothing is official at this point.

Source: Honda

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Little else is known about the vehicle, but we do know it will be followed later in the 2024 calendar year by an Acura electric SUV using the same GM-sourced underpinnings. Per an Automotive News report from January 2021, both will apparently be made by GM, with the Honda due to be manufactured in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico and the Acura in Spring Hill, Tennessee. However, Honda has yet to confirm the production locations of its two new EVs.

These new zero-emissions models will help Honda in its quest to have 40% of its sales represented by EVs by 2030, with the percentage to grow to 80% by 2035. Ultimately, the company’s North American division aims to have an all-electric lineup by 2040. To get there, a new e:Architecture is being developed for all things electric, and it will debut in the latter half of this decade in the United States. Further down the line, additional EVs riding on this platform will be introduced in other regions. It remains to be seen how this in-house platform will impact Honda’s relationship with General Motors.

Automotive News reports Honda’s electric SUV will be larger than the fancier Acura, but it’s too early to know for sure. 2024 is still two and a half years away and this teaser isn’t helping much since the design and size remain a complete mystery. We at least know the name of the Honda model and chances are we won’t have to wait much longer to discover which moniker the Acura equivalent is going to adopt.

Source: Honda

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