The world famous car manufacturer, Honda, has been on shaky ground for quite some time now and is on the verge of rethinking the strategy. The company seems to be increasing its focus towards hybrid vehicles and has now showcased a Honda hybrid sedan and Acura SUV prototypes during a business briefing.
Both of these vehicles are scheduled to launch within a few years and feature the company’s next-generation hybrid technology. The move is part of Honda’s push into the North American market, which includes 15 upcoming cars featuring next-generation hybrid technology. let’s take a closer look.
Honda hybrid sedan and SUV prototype
During a recent business briefing, Honda showcased two new prototypes with its next-generation hybrid technology. One is a Honda sedan and the other is an Acura SUV. These are not concepts and are currently in the prototype stage and even look production ready to North American (USA) specification.
These two new vehicles showcased are part of the 15 hybrid car strategy to be launched by March 2030. Most of these 15 offerings are likely to be for the US market. The move toward hybrid technology follows a move away from pure electric vehicles, in which Honda had invested deeply. The company canceled a bunch of EVs including 0 sedans, 0 SUVs, the Acura RSX and even those two EVs under the Afila brand under a joint venture with Sony.
In terms of design, the Honda hybrid sedan prototype seems to be largely inspired by the 0 sedan concept. We can see this in its wedge shape silhouette. It has a beautiful fascia, sloping rear roofline, semi-flush door handles, great wheels, two-piece LED DRL setup above the headlight housing, raked windscreen and much more.
On the other hand, the Acura hybrid SUV prototype that was just showcased seems to be inspired by the RSX concept, which made the transition from sportscar nameplate to SUV, a similar fate to the Mitsubishi Eclipse. It looks like both of these vehicles are production ready, but expect them to hit showrooms around 2028.
next generation hybrid
Both of these prototypes are equipped with Honda’s next-generation hybrid technology, which promises 10% higher system efficiency compared to the current generation technology. A new platform is also being developed, which promises lightness and greater fuel efficiency and reduces costs by about 30%. When fully developed, Honda promises that this new generation hybrid technology will be the world’s most efficient powertrain.
The company is set to spend around JPY 4.4 trillion (Rs 2,65,935 crore) within the next three years to achieve this target, while development funding for pure EVs has been reduced to JPY 0.8 trillion (Rs 48,351 crore) and a raft of planned EVs have been put on hold.