According to Automotive News, Honda-owned performance vehicle maker Acura is gearing up to go all-in on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and will skip the hybrid phase altogether in its transition to all-electric.
After new Integra, Acura to push hard on EVs https://t.co/MP5orjclGj pic.twitter.com/Gdqfo5T4g9
— Automotive News (@Automotive_News) December 6, 2021
Acura will be dusting off the Integra nameplate and slapping it on a new compact hatchback sometime next year, and while it is going to be powered by a combustion engine, the performance-focused Honda subsidiary hopes it will help generate interest in the brand and act as a precursor to a new era at the company.
“The benefit of returning to the Integra right now is that it’s going to help shepherd a new generation of customers and build loyalty as we move into a new era,” Emile Korkor, Assistant Vice President of National Sales at Acura, told Automotive News.
“That new era is, of course, electrification.”
Both Honda and Acura are planning on launching fully-electric SUVs in the U.S. in 2024, developed in partnership with veteran carmaker General Motors.
Acura will be launching an Acura EV, while Honda will release its ‘Prologue’ electric SUV for which the automaker has a sales target of 70,000 units in the year.
Where Honda is taking the scenic route to fleet-wide electrification through plug-in hybrids, Acura plans on fast-tracking its transition by pushing EVs as a greater percentage of sales more quickly.
“For Acura, we’re going much faster than the Honda brand in terms of our transition to electric vehicles as a percentage of sales,” said Korkor. “We’re going to bypass hybrids altogether. So our shift is going very rapidly into BEV. That’s our main focus.”
Korkor also noted that going electric could help restore the Acura brand to its performance routes, given the superior acceleration electric drivetrains are inherently capable of.
“We’re not just dipping our toe in the water with electric at Acura, we are jumping all in. And that’s not just because we need to. It’s because we want to. Acura is really focused on performance, and electrification is one of the greatest ways we can augment that performance,” said Korkor.
According to Korkor, EVs will account for over half of Acura’s total sales volume by 2030, and the company is actually aiming for upwards of 60%. Honda’s EV sales targets for the same timeframe are relatively tamer, at 40% of overall sales.
