- Honda has announced its all-new 2025 Prelude hybrid is a go for production
- This sixth generation of the Prelude name will arrive in Canada late next year
- Honda will also begin building EVs on a Honda-designed EV platform in 2025
Honda plans to bring back the Prelude, but this time, it’ll be a gas-electric hybrid. The automaker intends to introduce this sixth-generation model to the Canadian market late in 2025. The Prelude Concept was first shown in North America in 2023 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, following its global unveiling that year at the Japan Mobility Show.
The debut marked 45 years since the first-generation Prelude sport coupe went into production in November 1978. Over the years, the Prelude introduced such technologies as four-wheel steering and active torque vectoring.
Honda said that “in keeping with the heritage of the Prelude line,” the upcoming hybrid will debut a drive mode called Honda S+ Shift with “maximum levels of driver engagement.” Of course, this far out from production, we don’t yet have anything on specifications or Canadian pricing.
As with the automaker’s other hybrids, the Prelude will use the latest generation of Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, which includes an electric propulsion motor that directly drives the wheels; an electric generator motor that supplies power to the hybrid battery and propulsion motor; and a gasoline engine that powers that generator motor, and also drives the wheels as needed, primarily during highway cruising.
“The Honda Prelude has a storied history, joining Civic and Accord as one of the first three products in our lineup in the 1970s,” said Emile Korkor, assistant vice-president of Honda Canada. “Its return will put a nostalgic smile on the faces of those that have fond memories of this iconic car.” He added that it will join the Civic, Accord, and CR-V “as part of our expanding hybrid lineup.”
While the Toyota Prius was the first mass-market hybrid when it initially went on sale in Japan in 1997, the Honda Insight was the first to make it to North America when it went on sale here in December of 1999.
Honda says its global goal is to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050. Its vision is for 100% of its vehicle sales to be battery-electric or fuel-cell electric by 2040, and gas-electric hybrids will be a “key step” in achieving that.
Honda Canada reports that in 2024, more than 30% of its total sales have been hybrid vehicles. More than 50% of Accord and CR-V sales are hybrids, and the new Civic Hybrid is expected to make up about 60% of all Civic sales. Earlier this year, Honda introduced the all-electric Prologue, built in partnership with General Motors. Late in 2025, it plans to begin production of vehicles based on a Honda-developed EV platform at its facility in Ohio.
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