Honda is starting to get very serious about its electrified future. After shelving its plans to introduce a new EV platform, instead focusing on hybridizing most of its lineup, the Japanese automaker was just caught trademarking a new brand name in the United Kingdom and Europe. We expect the name to show up just about everywhere in Honda’s future lineup, ranging from the pint-sized HR-V to the rough-and-tumble Pilot TrailSport.
Details about the new hybrid system are scarce, but it sounds like it should be a bit of a changeup from Honda’s current offerings, based off the new trademark: DualPower eAWD.
2026 Honda CR-VHonda
Honda Wants Even More Hybrids In Its Lineup
The company made waves with the 2023 CR-V, which removed the choice of a hybrid engine on multiple trim levels and instead used it as a stepping stone; base models received a non-hybrid engine, while Sport trims and above also included electrification as a standard feature. The company used the same tactic on the redesigned 2024 Accord and refreshed 2025 Civic when those cars were introduced. The move meant that far more people would be choosing electrified Hondas, simplifying the ordering process.
However, the company’s new DualPower eAWD trademark, filed September 28 in both the UK and Europe, suggests that more hybrids are on the way. We presume the as-yet-unseen badge will appear on larger vehicles, like future generations of the Pilot and Passport, heralding the extra torque and powertrain refinement that electric motors can provide to a combustion-powered car. The verbage of the trademark is much more forthcoming than the somewhat vague “e:HEV” branding Honda uses globally, as well as more evocative than the plain-jane “Hybrid” badge found in North America.
2026 Honda CR-V TrailSportBrett T. Evans/CarBuzz/Valnet
How Will Future Honda Hybrids Work?
Currently, Honda’s two-motor hybrid system is centralized within the transmission, with one generator motor coming off the engine’s output shaft and the other traction motor leading to the drive wheels. By coupling and uncoupling the electric motors as needed, the system allows the engine to function primarily as an on-board generator, only occasionally driving the wheels directly in light-throttle, high-speed situations. On the all-wheel-drive CR-V, a conventional driveshaft sends power rearward.
DualPower eAWD will reflect a change in strategy, however. We’ve already learned that future Honda hybrids will offer electric all-wheel drive, that is, a secondary electric motor mounted on the rear axle, doing away with the driveshaft altogether. The “DualPower” prefix also sounds like the front drive wheels will take their marching orders from both the internal-combustion engine and one or more motors – something we discovered when we saw Honda’s next-generation hybrid V6 in Japan last year. The system will be most useful in those aforementioned midsize SUVs, which may need the extra grunt to tow trailers or haul carloads of soccer players and equipment.
DualPower eAWD Could Arrive Next Year
Acura Hybrid SUV Prototype (2)Honda
Honda’s luxury division recently revealed a production-intent design that looks a lot like a future-generation Acura RDX, which will likely be the first vehicle to receive the new DualPower eAWD system – including the V6. Acura’s typical “prototype” timing usually means it’s about to launch the production version within a year or two, so we suspect we’ll get a crack at the new gas-electric powertrain design by the end of 2027.
Acura Hybrid SUV PrototypeHonda
The new V6, which displaces 3.0 liters, is dimensionally similar in size to Honda’s current J-Series 3.5-liter found under the hoods of its SUVs and minivan. We bet Honda designed the new engine to slot right in so that it could easily electrify the aging Odyssey in the next year or two, when it’s due to receive yet another refresh in anticipation of a full redesign a few years later. A hybrid V6 – with or without electric all-wheel drive – would allow the automaker to maintain an edge over its Toyota Sienna rival, whose four-cylinder hybrid makes only around 245 hp to the current Odyssey’s 280.
Base Trim Engine
2L I4 Hybrid
Base Trim Transmission
CVT
Base Trim Drivetrain
Front-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
145 HP @6100 RPM
Base Trim Torque
138 lb.-ft. @ 4500 RPM
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
43/36/40 MPG
Base Trim Battery Type
Lead acid battery
Infotainment & Features
8 /10
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
Although it’s still enjoying brisk new-car sales, Honda suffered a pretty big financial setback when it decided to cancel its future EV program. But considering customers still want some form of electrification, we bet the hybrid-intensive lineup will work as well for the Tokyo-based company as it does for its Toyota rival.
And with US emissions and fuel economy regulations severely backtracked, Honda will now look like the overachiever it once was.
Source: European Union Intellectual Property Office, UK Intellectual Property Office
