By Michael Elkins
Honda (NYSE:HMC) offered the first look at the company’s new Honda Prologue today. The electric SUV will come to market in North America in 2024. The Prologue will complement Honda’s light truck lineup, positioned above CR-V and alongside Passport, offering generous passenger and cargo space. Neo-rugged was coined as the design direction, bringing the harmony of nature’s elements to the exterior and interior of Prologue.
"Our goal was to create a clean harmony based on a rugged SUV image by coordinating the colors and materials to express neo-rugged design styling that’s familiar to our customers and uniquely Honda," said Masaki Sumimoto, design lead for the Color, Materials and Finish.
The automaker released details about the design in a press release, saying “Prologue was conceived as a modern and fresh design that will feel at home in the showroom with existing Honda SUVs. Prologue’s generous dimensions and roomy interior position the SUV alongside the Passport in Honda’s light truck lineup. Prologue will have a wheelbase of 121.8-inches, and is about 8-inches longer and 5-inches wider than the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V.
The Prologue will have a generous interior, which will provide ample space for passengers and cargo. Showcasing a tech-rich cabin, the Prologue will have a standard fully digital 11-inch driver display panel and an 11.3-inch audio/connectivity display.”
"We are not going to wait until 2024 to attract EV buyers, because we see a natural progression for a CR-V customer to Prologue with its slightly larger size, larger interior and capable handling," said Gary Robinson, vice president, automobile planning and strategy at American Honda. "We will support that transition now by putting smart strategies in place with the CR-V hybrid, that will enable our customers to transition to an EV."
Shares of HMC are down 0.55% near end of day trading Thursday.