Honda Cancels Only US EV, Tells Owners to Buy Gas Instead
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Honda discontinued the Prologue, its sole US EV, after just three model years (most vehicles last ~7), despite it becoming a top-10 US EV model in its first year on sale.
- Honda added a "consider a hybrid" note to July auto statements for Prologue owners, as flagged by Business Insider, following the cancellation of three upcoming US EVs and its Sony EV collaboration.
- Honda warned that the cancellations could cost up to $15.7 billion — the company's first annual loss in its history — driven by tariffs and rising Chinese EV competition.
- Prologue owners interviewed by Business Insider called the hybrid suggestion "laughable," with one stating no one who has gone fully electric would want to downgrade to a gas or hybrid vehicle.
- A recent study cited in the article found 96% of EV owners won't switch back to gas, a figure the source notes held even after Republicans ended the $7,500 US EV tax credit.
- The retreat comes as global oil prices surge and record heat waves make gas-powered vehicles increasingly untenable, per the source.
Why it matters: Honda is abandoning the EV market at precisely the moment surging global oil prices and record heat waves are making electric cars more attractive, and its own Prologue customers report near-universal refusal to return to gas vehicles. The up to $15.7 billion projected loss — Honda's first ever annual loss — ties directly to the cancellations, tariffs, and Chinese competition cited by the company.
