Honda wants in on the growing demand for affordable EVs. With the company’s CEO saying EVs selling for under $30,000 will be the main competition in the US, Honda may offer one of its own.
Honda mulls launching a sub-$30,000 EV in the US
Honda currently sells one fully electric vehicle in the US, the Prologue, which shares the same Ultium platform as the Chevy Equinox EV and all of GM’s electric cars.
The company confirmed that the Acura ZDX will not return for the 2026 model year, as it prepares for a new lineup over the next few years.
During the Japan Mobility Show last week, Honda unveiled the Super-ONE, a prototype of its smallest and most affordable EV set to launch in Japan next year, followed by Europe, the UK, and other global markets. Although the Super-ONE is not expected to arrive in the US, Honda may still offer an EV for under $30,000.
Honda’s CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, told reporters in Japan last week (via The Drive) that looking ahead, the main competition in the US will be affordable EVs, priced under $30,000.
“So, for the future, we will consider coming up with EVs under $30,000 as well,” Mibe said. However, don’t expect to see it anytime soon.
Thanks to the Trump administration killing off the $7,500 federal tax credit and ending other policies promoting EV adoption, Honda believes it has some time before it needs to launch it.
“What’s making it difficult, of course, is with the IRA subsidies now gone, with the Trump administration in place, we have the sense that maybe EV growth has been moved back out, maybe out five years in the further future,” Mibe said.
Due to the changes, Honda is aiming to launch more affordable EVs priced under $30,000 closer to the end of the decade.
“If we think about whether we have to really come up with those affordable EVs right away, we get the feeling not really,” Mibe said, adding it will be around 2030 before we see it.
Honda also wants to introduce an electric sports car, but “given this slowing down environment of the electrification in the market, it is kind of hard to decide when we would make them available to the market, ” Mibe added, saying it will simply launch “sometime in the future.” Honda has already made several prototypes.
The 0 Series Alpha SUV, revealed at the Japan Mobility Show, offers a preview of what the lower-priced EV could look like when it arrives.
In the meantime, Honda will focus on hybrids. The company is set to introduce its next-gen mid-size hybrid platform in 2027, promising it will be more efficient, less costly, and free of rare-earth materials.
Although it’s still not under $30,000, Honda is offering over $16,500 off with stackable savings on the 2025 Prologue in most US states.
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