Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Honda (HMC) Sets 70K Annual Sales Target for Prologue's US Journey

Read MoreHide Full Article

Honda Motor Company (HMC - Free Report) recently announced that it is targeting initial annual sales of 70,000 units for the all-new electric Prologue sport utility vehicle (SUV), when it first hits the U.S. market in 2024. The Honda Prologue SUV will be the first volume battery-electric vehicle (BEV) for North America.
 
The Prologue SUV will be equipped with cutting-edge technology and high functionality. More specific details about the new vehicle will be revealed over the upcoming months by the company. In addition to the Honda Prologue, the company will also unveil an all-electric Acura SUV in 2024 in North America.

Based on Honda’s strategic partnership with General Motors (GM - Free Report) , both Honda Prologue SUV and Acura SUV will utilize the latter’s Ultium-branded electric vehicle (EV) architecture and battery system.

General Motors will assemble the Prologue and the Acura SUV but Honda has still not disclosed which plant will be responsible for the production of the vehicles or the name or volume targets for Acura.

Honda also revealed plans of rolling out a new series of EV models in the second half of the decade. Nonetheless, the Japanese automaker plans to change the course and self-manufacture this new series based on a new e-architecture. The company will bank on its battery manufacturing expertise developed from building gas-electric hybrids for making its own EVs in North America.

Amid the aggravating climate-change concerns, investors are intrigued by automakers that provide green transportation solutions. A shift toward electric future has made it all the more essential for industry players to reorient their business models and accelerate the EV game. Major automakers within the transforming auto industry are taking considerable strides to provide transportation with zero emissions.

Honda is also committed to its goal of providing completely carbon-free transportation in the upcoming years and is boosting the company’s electrification efforts to attain this target. The Japanese automaker wants its sales of battery or fuel-cell powered EVs in North America to account for 40% of the total sales by 2030 and advance to 80%, by 2035. Moreover, the company targets to phase out all of its gasoline-powered vehicles in North America by 2040.

The launch of Honda’s first volume BEV will mark the beginning of the company’s transition to an electric future in North America. This will play a crucial role in achieving its vision of providing zero-emission transportation solution in the country. In fact, the name Prologue symbolizes the first in a new series of volume Honda BEV models, representing the advent of a new electrified era in North America.

Meanwhile, Honda will unveil the final production-spec version of the long-awaited N7X 7-seater SUV today. It is expected to look parallel to other models in the family and a smaller version of the Honda CR-V. The exact specifications about the new Honda N7X are still under the wraps and it will be likely be unveiled by the Japanese carmaker at the global debut today.

Reportedly, Honda also plans to launch the 7-seater N7X in India as well. While there is no official confirmation regarding its debut date in India, Honda did state any intention of replacing the discontinued BR-V SUV with a mid-size SUV for the Indian market, based on the same platform as the 5th-gen City.

Honda, peers of which include Toyota (TM - Free Report) and Nissan (NSANY - Free Report) , is a leading manufacturer of automobiles and one of the largest producers of motorcycles in the world. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Published in