Honda is sharing new details, including public DC fast charging incentives for its first electric SUV.
Honda revealed that the upcoming 2024 Honda Prologue is “expected” to get an EPA-estimated 300 miles of range on a single charge while announcing a slew of new specs for its first all-electric SUV. Built on GM’s Ultium platform, it achieves this range thanks to the 85kWh battery inside, which is the same size as the Chevy Blazer EV.
The two vehicles have many similarities inside and out, from the 121.8-inch wheelbase to the 11-inch driver instrument display. However, the official EPA range for Chevy’s SUV is already known, at 279 miles on a full charge.
Both the Prologue and the Blazer have Google built-in software, but Honda’s EV includes the wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto support that GM has decided its EVs will do without.
Honda will include several charging package options for Prologue (and Acura ZDX) buyers that include public charging credits. One package includes an 11.5kW home charging station with a $500 Honda Home Electrification installation service incentive plus $100 in public charging credit.
Honda PR representative Chris Martin tells The Verge in an email that the credits work specifically with EVgo and its roaming partners, including ChargePoint. Honda’s EVgo partnership enables customers to find chargers, see real-time stall availability, and initiate a charge, all within the new HondaLink app.
The second charging package option includes a slower (but portable) 7.6kW charger, a $250 install credit, and a $300 public charging credit. Finally, the third option eschews the Level 2 home charging offerings (in case you already have one or live in an apartment) and gives you $750 in public charging credits instead.
Regardless of your package of choice, new Honda and Acura EV owners will also get a free sampling of DC fast charging at Electrify America stations, up to 60kWh. That’s probably good for a free one-way road trip from New York City to Niagara Falls. Just remember that you won’t get to take advantage of Electrify America’s fastest 350kW charging options since the Prologue only supports up to 155kW. Honda says you can get 65 miles of range in about 10 minutes of fast charging.
Honda will deliver the first Prologue EVs in early 2024, and it will start in the “upper $40,000s.” It might even qualify for the $7,500 federal tax incentive, considering the Chevy Blazer is included in the list. Honda plans to introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2030 with a sales volume of 2 million vehicles.
Honda, like Toyota, is slow to kick-start its electrification process compared to other automakers, so it’s built the Prologue on GM’s platform as a stopgap. The Prologue is Honda’s first electric vehicle in the US since the automaker’s compliance 2015 Honda Fit EV model, while its next one, a larger SUV, will come in 2025 and run on the company’s own e Architecture platform.