Will Honda avoid the carnage of too many EVs arriving at once?

Honda dealers in the U.S. won't get their first battery-electric vehicle from the automaker until the Prologue goes on sale in early 2024.

The compact crossover, which uses General Motors' Ultium EV platform and battery technology, is a steppingstone in Honda's vision for all zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040.

But as competitors such as GM, Volkswagen and Ford add more EVs to their lineups as early as this year, Bill Feinstein, a Honda dealer and chairman emeritus of the Honda National Dealer Advisory Board, said it's not "too little, too late" for the Japanese automaker.

"It's going to be a very, very crowded market very, very quickly, and I think there could be a lot of carnage for these first movers," said Feinstein, president of Planet Honda in Tilton, N.H., and general manager of Planet Honda in Union, N.J.

Feinstein said dealers can expect a "smart, measured approach" with Honda's electrification strategy.

"When they introduce new technology, it tends to be best-in-class," he said. "They're very rarely the first mover, but when they move, it tends to be very, very good. I think they're really studying where the electrification is going."

Feinstein said Honda also has made it clear to dealers that there's still a future for internal-combustion-engine vehicles and, in the interim as battery technology and access to charging infrastructure improve, hybrid powertrains.

"While I think that it might be later than some other OEMs," he said, "I'm fairly certain that when Honda does come to the market, it's going to come with a splash and with some pretty innovative technology."