Click for more.
Honda has announced that an all-new hybrid-electric Prelude* sports coupe will be re-introduced to the U.S. market late next year, presumably as a 2026 model. The first prelude appeared in November 1978. This new one will debut Honda S+ Shift, claimed to be anew drive mode that “further advances Linear Shift Control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement.”
“The return of the Honda Prelude as a hybrid-electric sports model demonstrates our continued commitment to offer a variety of exhilarating products to meet the needs of our customers,” said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales. “The first three products in the Honda lineup in the 1970s were Civic, Accord and Prelude, and soon all three will be back together again in our passenger car lineup as hybrids.”
Honda Electrification Strategy
Honda established a global goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its products and corporate activities by 2050. Toward that goal, the company’s plan – likely subject to revision under Trump 2.0 – is to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of its vehicle sales by 2040.
Hybrid-electric vehicles are key at the moment because all core models will have hybrid-electric powertrains. Honda posted record electrified vehicle sales in 2024, which now represent more than a quarter of the brand’s total sales. Hybrid-electric trims currently make up more than 50% of Accord and CR-V sales, and the newly introduced Civic hybrid is expected to ultimately represent about 40% of Civic sales. Cumulative sales of Honda electrified vehicles top one million.
This month, Honda celebrates 25 years of hybrid sales in America. Honda began sales of the first-generation Honda Insight, America’s first hybrid-electric model in December of 1999.Honda began sales this year of the Honda Prologue, the brand’s first all-electric SUV. And late next year, Honda will begin production of the first EVs based on the new Honda-developed EV platform at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Annals of Marketing – Honda Prelude Returns as Hybrid
Click for more.
Honda has announced that an all-new hybrid-electric Prelude* sports coupe will be re-introduced to the U.S. market late next year, presumably as a 2026 model. The first prelude appeared in November 1978. This new one will debut Honda S+ Shift, claimed to be anew drive mode that “further advances Linear Shift Control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement.”
“The return of the Honda Prelude as a hybrid-electric sports model demonstrates our continued commitment to offer a variety of exhilarating products to meet the needs of our customers,” said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales. “The first three products in the Honda lineup in the 1970s were Civic, Accord and Prelude, and soon all three will be back together again in our passenger car lineup as hybrids.”
Honda Electrification Strategy
Honda established a global goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its products and corporate activities by 2050. Toward that goal, the company’s plan – likely subject to revision under Trump 2.0 – is to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of its vehicle sales by 2040.
Hybrid-electric vehicles are key at the moment because all core models will have hybrid-electric powertrains. Honda posted record electrified vehicle sales in 2024, which now represent more than a quarter of the brand’s total sales. Hybrid-electric trims currently make up more than 50% of Accord and CR-V sales, and the newly introduced Civic hybrid is expected to ultimately represent about 40% of Civic sales. Cumulative sales of Honda electrified vehicles top one million.
This month, Honda celebrates 25 years of hybrid sales in America. Honda began sales of the first-generation Honda Insight, America’s first hybrid-electric model in December of 1999.Honda began sales this year of the Honda Prologue, the brand’s first all-electric SUV. And late next year, Honda will begin production of the first EVs based on the new Honda-developed EV platform at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.