Honda will focus on hybrids, then EVs

As competitors prepare to launch more electric vehicles, Honda has been focused on redesigning its crossover lineup and adding fuel-sipping hybrid variants. The automaker believes hybrids will help move customers into EVs in the future while driving down emissions as it approaches tighter regulatory requirements slated to take into effect in the U.S. in 2026.

Of more immediate focus is the redesigned 2023 HR-V. The subcompact crossover grew in size and will now have an equally important role alongside the Civic as a gateway vehicle to the Honda brand.

Honda also is launching a redesigned CR-V compact crossover with two hybrid variants at the top of its lineup. The Sport and Sport Touring hybrids are expected to make up half of all CR-V sales.

Honda has been dogged by one of the industry's tightest vehicle inventories among automakers that continue to report, but it continues to prioritize these launches.

Later in 2022, the redesigned Pilot will go on sale, and a redesigned Accord will follow in early 2023. A resurrection of the Civic hybrid, which was part of the compact sedan's lineup for the 2003 to 2013 model years, spanning the seventh and ninth generations, is still coming.

In 2024, Honda will debut an all-electric compact crossover, the Prologue, which it will build with General Motors. The Prologue represents the first of three phases in the brand's aggressive target of producing 500,000 EVs in North America by 2030. The second is a rollout of electric models built on Honda's e:Architecture platform in 2026, and the third is a series of "affordable EVs" based on a new architecture co-developed with GM in 2027.

Honda has been slower to tackle full EVs but aims to introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2030.

Prologue: When it appears in 2024, the Prologue electric compact crossover will use GM's Ultium platform and batteries. But its exterior was developed by the Honda Design Studio in Los Angeles with influence from a Japan-based design team. Honda will design the interior as well. According to a digital rendering, the Prologue mixes clean lines with a long wheelbase, short overhang and strong stance. This type of adventure-oriented styling will make it competitive with rivals in the hot-selling compact crossover segment.

It will sit between the compact CR-V and midsize Passport in size. The front fascia will set the tone for other EVs.

e:Architechture EVs: Honda has targeted 2026 for launching its e:Architechture platform that will underpin larger EVs for North America.

GM co-developed EVs: Honda is mum on the cadence of EVs to follow starting in 2027, but Honda and GM have said they are collaborating on a midsize EV platform to bring "affordable EVs" to the masses that will be "mostly crossovers."

Ridgeline: Honda's lone, all-wheel-drive-only pickup is still in its second generation and carries over to the 2023 model year with no changes. Honda freshened the Ridgeline in 2021 and gave it a face-lift from the A-pillars forward, including a flatter hood, squared-off nose and the same upright grille that's been trickling down the light-truck lineup.

The Ridgeline will likely get a mild-hybrid powertrain as part of a 2024 freshening and then undergo a full redesign in 2028.

Pilot: The three-row crossover will get a redesign for the 2023 model year. It will be revealed in October and go on sale at the end of this year. For the 2022 model year, Honda added an entry Sport trim and the more capable TrailSport. Honda has said the TrailSport will play a more important role in the brand's future but did not specify how.

Spy photos indicate the redesigned Pilot will have a closer resemblance to the Passport five-seater that was redesigned for the 2022 model year with styling that Honda says reflects it true capability. The Pilot also will sport the upright grille. Its boxier shape moves it further away from minivan territory, and it appears to be more in line with the Ridgeline from the A-pillar forward.

The redesign is expected to ride on Honda's new global light-truck platform that debuted with the 2022 Acura MDX. It's possible the Pilot also will adopt the MDX's longer dash-to-axle ratio, with a longer hood and what Acura calls a more premium "cab rearward" design.

The Pilot's 3.5-liter V-6 engine will likely carry over with a new 10-speed automatic transmission, also found on the MDX.

A larger Pilot XL variant is expected to debut in the second half of 2025.

Passport: The midsize crossover was redesigned for the 2019 model year, and it received a light exterior freshening from the A-pillar forward for 2022. The Passport carries over to 2023 unchanged and goes on sale this fall. Its next redesign, due in 2025, could come with a mild-hybrid powertrain.

CR-V: Honda's popular compact crossover is fully redesigned for the 2023 model year. The sixth-generation CR-V is bigger — up by 2.7 inches in length and 1.6 inches in wheelbase — and has the two new well-equipped Sport and Sport Touring hybrid variants at the top of its lineup. They are powered by a fourth-generation two-motor hybrid electric system combined with a 2.0-liter, inline four-cylinder that delivers 204 hp and 247 pound-feet of torque. The Sport can be equipped with front-wheel drive and awd; the Sport Touring comes with awd only.

The gasoline-powered EX and EX-L models get an updated turbo 1.5-liter engine reengineered for better emissions performance, and both can be configured with fwd or awd.

The CR-V gets the new upright grille. Both hybrid trims have more aggressive front and rear fascias, including a mesh grille design, black wheels and rectangular exhaust finishers.

The 2023 CR-V EX and EX-L trims will go on sale this summer, and the hybrid models will follow later in the year. A minor freshening of the CR-V is expected in 2026.

HR-V: The subcompact crossover was redesigned for the 2023 model year and is on sale now. It is significantly larger than the outgoing model, with 9 more inches in length and 3 more in width. The wheelbase increased by 1.7 inches. Honda added hill descent control to the HR-V's tech menu, a first for a Honda utility vehicle.

It is powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine with 158 hp and 138 pound-feet of torque. Each of the three available trims can be configured with fwd or awd.

A freshening should come in 2025.

Odyssey: The 2023 Odyssey minivan has a new Sport trim that slots between the midrange EX-L and Touring trims. It will get a mild-hybrid powertrain alongside a freshening in 2024 but isn't likely to be redesigned until 2028.

Accord: The midsize sedan will undergo a redesign that will be revealed in November and go on sale in early 2023 as a 2024 model. The current 10th-generation Accord is powered by a four-cylinder powertrain lineup consisting of a 1.5-liter turbo, 2.0-liter turbo and 2.0-liter two-motor hybrid. Both turbos are expected to carry over.

Spy photos have captured an 11th-generation Accord that is still sporty but will move in styling closer to the 11th-generation Civic. Key changes include cleaner lines, a longer hood and a revised, upright grille. The Accord would be on schedule to receive a freshening in 2025.

Civic: Honda redesigned the compact sedan and hatchback for the 2022 model year, and both enter the 2023 model year unchanged. The hot-hatch Civic Si, also redesigned for 2022, carries over as well.

A redesigned Civic Type R will go on sale in the fall. It is based on the 11th-generation Civic hatchback and uses a reengineered version of Honda's 2.0-liter engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission; Honda has yet to disclose output.

The 2023 Civic Type R's new rigid, lighter-weight body enables improved high-speed stability and responsiveness, and a new +R mode gives the driver rpm display, rev indicator lights and gear position.

The exterior sports a new front bumper and honeycomb mesh grille, larger front fender grilles and a new side sill design for better aerodynamics. It also has new spoiler and rear bumpers and wider rear doors exclusive to the Type R.

Honda has confirmed a hybrid version of the Civic that will use the same two-motor hybrid system as the CR-V, but has said only that it will be "introduced in the future." Production could start at the end of the year or in early 2023, with sales more likely to start then. The Civic Hybrid is likely to sport slightly different styling cues, including a distinct grille and badging as well as modifications in the front and rear for enhanced aerodynamics.

A freshening of the 11th-gen Civic is expected in 2024, with a redesign following as soon as 2026.