- Honda's Prologue EV is new for 2024 and doing well in sales already.
- It was close in sales to the Ford Mustang Mach-E in Q3 and even passed the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in the same period.
- Will Honda's future EV strategy be able to capitalize on the Prologue's success?
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to outfox the Ford Mustang Mach-E. It's spent a few years now as one of America's top-selling electric vehicles that don't come from Tesla, and it took the top non-Tesla crown this year after the Chevrolet Bolt bowed out of the market. But now, and perhaps unexpectedly, an unlikely competitor is gaining fast on the Mach-E: the Honda Prologue.
The recent analysis of third-quarter U.S. electric vehicle sales data from Cox Automotive has some very interesting trend lines. One thing that stood out to us in particular was just how well the Prologue is doing in its first year on the market and as production really starts to ramp up.
According to the data, the Prologue became America's fifth best-selling EV in Q3, behind, in order, the Tesla Model Y, Model 3, Cybertruck and Mustang Mach-E. So for non-Tesla EV sales, that means the Prologue takes the silver medal. And with 12,644 Prologue sales in Q3, it was only off the Mach-E's numbers by 748 units.
Granted, the Mach-E will probably keep the non-Tesla leader status by the year's end because it's just been on sale in volume for much longer. But the fact that the Prologue is catching up so quickly to a hit like the Mach-E says a lot about how much people want good electric Hondas.
| EV Name | Q3 2024 Sales | Q3 2023 Sales | Year-To-Date (Q3 End) |
| Tesla Model Y | 86,801 | 95,539 | 284,831 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 58,423 | 53,251 | 131,975 |
| Tesla Cybertruck | 16,692 | N/A | 28,250 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 13,392 | 14,842 | 35,626 |
| Honda Prologue | 12,644 | N/A | 14,179 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 11,590 | 11,665 | 30,318 |
I'd also add that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is no sales slouch either, and, in addition to being one of the best-spec'd EVs around, seemed like it could possibly take the non-Tesla sales leader position this year. But now it has tough competition too.
This is a nice outcome for Honda's first modern EV, but perhaps it's not too surprising. American car buyers still tend to equate Honda and Toyota with being "green" car companies since both were such pioneers in the hybrid arena (and still do very well sales-wise with electrified models.) This summer, we featured a survey that indicated Honda and Toyota were considered EV leaders in the U.S., despite both automakers being actually reluctant to embrace full electrification.
Gallery: 2024 Honda Prologue Review
But clearly, people want good EVs from those brands; on the months when good deals and discounts could be found, Toyota's bZ4X showed massive growth. It's a clientele that wants dependable and reliable technology and is probably more inclined to "green" than fans of other car brands.
And the specs on the Prologue are pretty legitimate. With front- or dual-motor all-wheel-drive, up to 296 miles of range from its 85 kWh battery and a design that doesn't scream "I'm an electric spaceship," Honda's EV crossover hits a lot of sweet spots for mainstream success. Honda is even throwing in a home EV charger and help with some installation costs on the Prologue, making it kind of a turnkey choice for people going electric for the first time.
Sure, underneath it actually uses General Motors' EV platform and batteries, but I'm not sure many customers know or even care. (And GM's Ultium platform is strong on its own, with electric sales from the American automaker showing serious gains too.)
Oh, and it has Apple CarPlay, unlike GM's EVs. No wonder it's doing well.
The question now is what Honda's electric future will look like. It's cleat that while the GM-based Prologue is popular, it's also kind of a stopgap until Honda can get its in-house EV operations up and running. That includes huge battery and car production hubs in Ohio and Canada and a novel approach to EVs that aims to emphasize lighter weight, interior space and better tech. But we have questions about that approach too, like whether these next-generation Honda EVs will look as out there as the 0 Series Concepts that debuted at CES this year, and what it means if they launch with a more expensive flagship sedan.
With any luck, Honda will be able to deliver something that can capitalize on the Prologue's success. And as interesting as the 0 Series models could be, a moderately-priced, good-range family crossover may just be the proven play instead.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
