Honda has been dogged by one of the industry’s tightest vehicle inventories among automakers that continue to report, but it continues to prioritize these launches.
Later in 2022, the redesigned Pilot will go on sale, and a redesigned Accord will follow in early 2023. A resurrection of the Civic hybrid, which was part of the compact sedan’s lineup for the 2003 to 2013 model years, spanning the seventh and ninth generations, is still coming.
In 2024, Honda will debut an all-electric compact crossover, the Prologue, which it will build with General Motors. The Prologue represents the first of three phases in the brand’s aggressive target of producing 500,000 EVs in North America by 2030. The second is a rollout of electric models built on Honda’s e:Architecture platform in 2026, and the third is a series of “affordable EVs” based on a new architecture co-developed with GM in 2027.
Honda has been slower to tackle full EVs but aims to introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2030.
Prologue: When it appears in 2024, the Prologue electric compact crossover will use GM’s Ultium platform and batteries. But its exterior was developed by the Honda Design Studio in Los Angeles with influence from a Japan-based design team. Honda will design the interior as well. According to a digital rendering, the Prologue mixes clean lines with a long wheelbase, short overhang and strong stance. This type of adventure-oriented styling will make it competitive with rivals in the hot-selling compact crossover segment.
It will sit between the compact CR-V and midsize Passport in size. The front fascia will set the tone for other EVs.
e:Architechture EVs: Honda has targeted 2026 for launching its e:Architechture platform that will underpin larger EVs for North America.
GM co-developed EVs: Honda is mum on the cadence of EVs to follow starting in 2027, but Honda and GM have said they are collaborating on a midsize EV platform to bring “affordable EVs” to the masses that will be “mostly crossovers.”
Ridgeline: Honda’s lone, all-wheel-drive-only pickup is still in its second generation and carries over to the 2023 model year with no changes. Honda freshened the Ridgeline in 2021 and gave it a face-lift from the A-pillars forward, including a flatter hood, squared-off nose and the same upright grille that’s been trickling down the light-truck lineup.
The Ridgeline will likely get a mild-hybrid powertrain as part of a 2024 freshening and then undergo a full redesign in 2028.
Pilot: The three-row crossover will get a redesign for the 2023 model year. It will be revealed in October and go on sale at the end of this year. For the 2022 model year, Honda added an entry Sport trim and the more capable TrailSport. Honda has said the TrailSport will play a more important role in the brand’s future but did not specify how.
Spy photos indicate the redesigned Pilot will have a closer resemblance to the Passport five-seater that was redesigned for the 2022 model year with styling that Honda says reflects it true capability. The Pilot also will sport the upright grille. Its boxier shape moves it further away from minivan territory, and it appears to be more in line with the Ridgeline from the A-pillar forward.
The redesign is expected to ride on Honda’s new global light-truck platform that debuted with the 2022 Acura MDX. It’s possible the Pilot also will adopt the MDX’s longer dash-to-axle ratio, with a longer hood and what Acura calls a more premium “cab rearward” design.
The Pilot’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine will likely carry over with a new 10-speed automatic transmission, also found on the MDX.
A larger Pilot XL variant is expected to debut in the second half of 2025.
Passport: The midsize crossover was redesigned for the 2019 model year, and it received a light exterior freshening from the A-pillar forward for 2022. The Passport carries over to 2023 unchanged and goes on sale this fall. Its next redesign, due in 2025, could come with a mild-hybrid powertrain.