AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/03 Report--

Honda USA released the latest news of its 2024 Prologue model on Oct. 3. The new car, which starts at $40, 000, will be scheduled for this year and will be available in overseas markets in early 2024. It is understood that the Prologue positioning medium-sized pure electric SUV is the first model jointly created by Honda and General Motors, based on GM's Ultium platform.

In terms of appearance, Prologue does not adopt the current radical design style of pure trams, but continues to use the Honda family design style, with a slender front grille on the front face, which forms a penetrating design with headlights on both sides, and Honda LOGO in the center of the front grille, which is highly recognizable.

At the rear of the vehicle, the Prologue does not use the popular through taillight group, the center of the taillight is marked with "Honda" in English, and the "AWD" tail mark indicates that the car will provide a four-wheel drive version. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the new car are 4876/1988/1643mm, the wheelbase is 3093mm, and the positioning is between CR-V and Passport.

In terms of interior decoration, the overall layout of the new car still adopts the current Honda family style, with an 11-inch full LCD dashboard and an 11.3-inch suspension central control screen, while retaining some physical buttons and knobs. The physical buttons for temperature control and seat heating are used at the bottom of the central control screen. At the same time, the new car is also equipped with multi-function steering wheel, wireless charging board and other configurations.

In terms of power, the Prologe all-wheel drive model has a maximum power of 288 horsepower, while for high-end models, Honda expects 85 kWh batteries to be suitable for 300 miles. The four-wheel drive version and larger wheels could bring that number down to about 260 miles. For charging, the new car has a potential time of less than 8 hours and offers a 7.6 kilowatt portable charging kit. When using DC fast charging, the Prologue can increase its range by 65 miles in 10 minutes.

In addition, Honda will offer Prologue buyers one of three different charging solutions. The first is an 11.5 kilowatt home charger with a $500 installation bonus and a $100 charging credit. The second is a 7.6 kilowatt portable charger, as well as a $250 installation bonus and a $300 public charging credit. Finally, those who don't need a home charger can choose a charge credit of $750.

Today, with the electrification of the global automobile industry, Honda has been playing an obvious laggard role in the process of bringing electric vehicles to market.

In April 2020, GM announced that it would launch the next two all-electric vehicles in partnership with Japanese carmaker Honda. In September 2020, the two car companies will expand the scope of transactions and sign a new memorandum of understanding, which will seek cooperation in more areas, including engineering, procurement, services and other areas. speed up the development of vehicle technology while reducing costs.

In March 2021, Honda announced that it would start selling two pure electric SUV models for the US market from 2024, but neither of them was originally created by Honda, but was built in partnership with GM based on GM's Ultium platform.

Marry Barra, GM's CEO and chairman, said: "GM will work with Honda in technology, design and manufacturing, and the new car will first enter the North American market and then South America and China, which are both major markets."

Under the background that new energy vehicles have become the mainstream of the market, the cooperation between large car companies is not new, and they have even found local Chinese car companies. The cooperation between Volkswagen and Xiaopeng Motor is the most classic example. These former auto giants are facing unprecedented challenges.

As the second car brand in the Japanese market, Honda's lag in electrification and intelligence is obvious to all, especially in China, where the competitive pressure is most obvious. According to the plan, Honda China plans to launch 10 pure electric vehicles under the eRV N brand by 2027. After 2030, all new models launched by Honda in China will be electric vehicles such as pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, and no new fuel vehicles will be put into operation.

In China, GM and Honda may need to develop new cars faster to compete with more than 100 models of their own brands.

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