Honda recently canceled the only EV it sells in the US, and this month started telling Prologue owners to “consider a hybrid.” But here’s the hitch: virtually zero EV owners are interested in switching back to gas after experiencing how much better EVs are.
Up until this month, Honda sold one of the best-selling EVs in the US: the Honda Prologue.
The car was the result of a collaboration between GM and Honda, largely using the underpinnings of a Chevy Blazer.
But it was a big hit – it outsold everything GM had to offer in 2024, its first year on the market. It continued to beat expectations, and remained in the top 10 EV models in the US… all the way up until its unceremonious discontinuation just last week.
The car ended up only being available for three model years – most vehicles are available for about seven.
Honda’s strange decision to eliminate the Prologue came after the company cancelled three upcoming EVs in the US and killed off the EV it was building with Sony.
It also doesn’t jive with the model’s name – the “Prologue” was meant to be a start of Honda’s EV ambitions, a sign of things to come, a co-development when Honda’s first-party offerings were still being prepared. Now, the story is stopping after the prologue, and Honda didn’t even get to the first chapter.
Honda flags its first annual loss instead of trying to compete
Honda said that the net effect of all these cancellations would be a loss of up to $15.7 billion, which would lead to the company’s first annual loss ever in its history. The main drivers behind this loss are tariffs and increasing competition in Asia, mainly from Chinese firms that are electrifying rapidly and eating everyone’s lunch.
What’s a company to do, when faced with fast-moving competition? Well, just like everyone else seems to be doing, choose to lose money instead of competing.
So, Honda threw its toys out the pram and canceled all its EVs. Now, after its little tantrum, instead of doing the smart thing and, uh, un-canceling those programs so it can actually compete in the international auto market, it’s telling its owners “pretty please, buy one of our gas-guzzlers instead.”
While Honda is retreating to hybrids, trying to pretend that a gas guzzler that gets 100% of its energy from gasoline is somehow anywhere near as “environmentally-friendly” as one that does not use gasoline at all (and uses 3x as much energy every mile it moves down the road), its customers won’t join in that retreat.
Honda financing “laughably” tells EV owners to “consider a hybrid”
The note, flagged by Business Insider, appears on the bottom of all Honda auto statements for the month of July.
But for an EV owner, going back to a car that burns gasoline is a non-starter.
Business Insider interviewed several Prologue owners, who found the statement “laughable.” One said, “with very few exceptions, anyone who has gone fully electric would never want to downgrade to a gas or hybrid vehicle going forward.”
But this isn’t just one owner saying this. A recent study showed that 96% of EV owners won’t switch back, and that study was done after republicans inflated the price of EVs in the US by $7,500.
And in our years of covering EVs, Electrek has seen many, many similar studies with similarly high satisfaction numbers for EVs. Once a driver experiences the superiority of electric drive, there’s very few reasons to switch back.
There could not be a worse time to go back to gas
This is particularly true in today’s global environment. While US republicans have tried as hard as they can to inflate the prices of EVs and electricity and everything else domestically, their policies are also pushing oil prices higher with more to come. The same is happening internationally, with global oil prices surging due to an idiotic war in Iran.
With oil prices taking headlines around the globe, EVs have gained renewed interest both abroad and at home. Whole countries have made the smart decision to stop importing gas cars entirely.
And, given the record heat waves being experienced basically everywhere, with many countries racking up thousands of deaths as a result of climate change caused by oil-burning cars, customers who are not contributing to that mass death might not want to “consider” re-joining the global firing squad.
And as a manufacturer, pulling back from the rising part of the global auto market and committing to the falling part is not a great idea. Ask Kodak, Nokia and Blockbuster how that worked out for them.
Honda is simply clueless
So, Honda’s note telling EV drivers to switch back to gas rings rather hollow, given everything the world is up against right now, and given its customers’ exposure to a better option. Certainly a majority of Honda customers still don’t know any better – because most of the cars that Honda sells are gas guzzlers – but its EV owners understand that oil’s time has come and gone.
We’re sure there are a few Honda die-hards who, when their Prologue lease is up and Honda refuses to sell them a good vehicle, will suck it up and get one of the company’s gassers instead. Or a few for whom the EV just didn’t work out for whatever reason, and will go back.
But that vanishingly small few percent of owners may not even be worth the ink Honda is spending on these letters, given how high overall EV satisfaction is. And for those owners who won’t go back, the statement will only show Honda’s cluelessness of the current global auto market, where it seems only Chinese firms (and certainly not Japanese ones) have any idea what’s going on.
If you’re looking to get one of the last Honda Prologues before they’re all off of dealer lots, you can use our affiliate link to reach out to local dealers about the Honda Prologue EV.
Charge your electric vehicle at home using rooftop solar panels. Find a reliable and competitively priced solar installer near you on EnergySage, for free. They have pre-vetted installers competing for your business, ensuring high-quality solutions and 20-30% savings. It’s free, with no sales calls until you choose an installer. Compare personalized solar quotes online and receive guidance from unbiased Energy Advisers. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
