It’s been an interesting year for battery electric vehicles in America. From Fisker going bust to more brands gaining access to Tesla’s vaunted Supercharger network, it’s an exciting time to be covering the EV space, and few Western manufacturers are going as hard as General Motors right now. From the opulent Cadillac Escalade IQ to the reasonably priced Chevrolet Equinox EV, GM’s full-court EV press has been a lot to focus on, which makes it interesting that the best-selling single EV that GM builds right now isn’t sold through GM showrooms. Actually, it’s badged as a Honda.
We’re talking about the Honda Prologue, which is basically a Chevrolet Blazer EV from the floorpan to the subframes to the switchgear. It’s even built in GM’s Ramos Arizpe facility in Mexico. Honda’s no stranger to collaborating with GM in the past, having blessed the Saturn Vue with its J-series V6 back in the mid-2000s, and when the brand needed an electric crossover for the U.S. market, it tapped GM’s Ultium platform. Considering Honda enjoys a reputation for quality and GM is still working on achieving that, would this move backfire? No. Not even slightly.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the best-selling GM-branded Ultium-platform EV was the Chevrolet Equinox EV, which finally became available in its most affordable trim and sold 18,089 units. The Honda Prologue, despite being more expensive, shifted 18,838 units during the same period, and according to math, that is more. Only a few hundred more, but in volumes like this, a few hundred crossovers matter.
If we look at the full year, Honda sold 33,017 Prologue EVs, which means this midsize electric two-row crossover actually outsold its combustion-powered in-showroom rival. The V6-powered Honda Passport sold 32,527 units this year, although a new generation of that car’s just around the corner. It’s also worth noting that the Honda Prologue outsold any single model of GM-badged Ultium EV through the whole calendar year, too. Over at GM, the best-selling Ultium EV in 2024 was still the Equinox EV, shifting 28,874 units. Keep in mind, deliveries only started in May, so we are dealing with a truncated year here, putting an asterisk in the achievement, but the fourth-quarter sales indicate that Honda’s still winning.
So what’s actually happening here? Well, several things could contribute to this phenomenon, starting with a difference in choice. Chevrolet currently sells two five-seat electric crossovers, the Equinox EV and Blazer EV. Considering higher trims of the Equinox EV and lower trims of the Blazer EV overlap on price, there could be some sales cannibalization going on there. Meanwhile, if you walk into a Honda showroom in America and want an EV, your only choice is the Prologue.
Then there’s the user experience elephant in the room. Unlike many Ultium EVs, the Honda Prologue features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and that’s a big deal. A 2023 Cox Automotive study found that 45 percent of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto users preferred smartphone mirroring to vehicles’ native infotainment interfaces, compared to just 25 percent of non-CarPlay and non-Android Auto users. The convenience of connecting your phone and having a mostly standardized interface no matter what vehicle you drive has the potential to reduce the learning curve of a new vehicle, and familiarity can certainly enhance enjoyment.
Finally, the Prologue leases extremely well. Honda is currently advertising a 24-month lease for $209 per month with $2,699 down and a 10,000-mile annual mileage allowance on the 2024 Prologue EX AWD, whereas a 24-month lease on a 2024 Chevrolet Equinox LT FWD will run you $299 per month with $3,169 down. That’s a huge advantage for Honda because not only did Cox Automotive report in July that 42.7 percent of new EVs in America were leased, the average consumer shops a payment and not a final price. To many consumers, the Prologue simply proved more affordable than its GM counterparts.
So, is GM in trouble if the best-selling Ultium EV nameplate is a Honda? No. Across all model lines, GM sold 114,426 battery electric vehicles in America last year, and that should be enough to secure GM a spot as America’s second-best-selling EV manufacturer. At the same time, Honda’s success with the Prologue points toward a promising future for its incoming all-Honda range of EVs.
(Photo credits: Honda)
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Sarcasm? If not, let me just say there is a phrase that ends with “……the test of time.”
“45 percent of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto users preferred smartphone mirroring to vehicles’ native infotainment interfaces, compared to just 25 percent of non-CarPlay and non-Android Auto users.”
An I reading this right? A majority of people who use AA or car play would prefer not to, as well as 3/4 of those who don’t?
I checked the relevant slide on the Cox report. Only 26% would prefer an OEM solution. 27% didn’t care. 3% were not sure.
If I had to guess, some people prefer not having to mess with CarPlay/Android Auto at all. I rented a Mach-E last week. Wireless AA worked seamlessly about 50% of the time. Other times I had to prompt it to connect, sometimes multiple times. Not a big burden, to be sure, but still One More Thing.
Off topic, I really liked the AA integration. It used about 2/3 of the big center screen, with Ford controls below. When using Google maps, turn prompts were displayed on the instrument screen.
It comes down to branding. The majority of people don’t know or care what an Ultium platform even is. So, given the choice between a Honda and a Chevy, the majority choose Honda.
We are looking to replace our first gen leaf with something with more range and looked at the Mach E, Equinox, Blazer, Ioniq 5, and Tesla Y over the holiday. The cargo space in the chevys and hyundai is tiny for the size of the car, like barely bigger than the leaf. A CRV or Rav4 have like 36-38cuft back there which is fine, at 25cuft in a tall small footprint the EVs seems unusable for a road trip. The tesla and mach e are a bit better and as much as I have the computer screen on wheels the Y is the clear winner in this segment. We will probably pick one up this spring as the 2022 lease returns start to pop up under 30k.
I would sooner burn a whole bunch of cash in a bonfire than buy a Muskla.
Here’s how I recently ended up with a Prologue lease.
I went to check out an Equanox at my local Chevy dealer, and they didn’t have any in and said they might get some the following week. But, they had two Blazers on the lot. So, I jumped in the driver’s seat of a Blazer and was allowed to turn it on, but not drive it for some reason. The sales person was beyond chill, which was cool, but also seemed to have little interest in selling the car. To me, the Blazer was ugly on the exterior, and on the interior, felt a bit cramped. I was coming from a VW Atlas and a Honda Element before that. I like to have at least the feeling of some space around me.
I mentioned that I still would like to see the Equanox when it comes in. He did not offer to contact me when that happens. I left feeling like I wasn’t wanted there. But, there were no others around, just some bored looking staff/salespeople.
Then, I went to a Kia dealership in the same group that operates the Honda dealership I used to deal with two cars ago. I went because I had a good dealership experience with that group and I’ve heard bad things about Kia dealers in general. Well, they had nothing in stock for me. There was an EV6 on the showroom floor, but I ruled that out because it’s HUGE on the outside and teeny on the inside somehow. I really wanted to make an EV9 lease work, but I couldn’t. Numbers were too high no matter what I did.
The business manager at the Kia place said she drives a Prologue and I should check it out. I already knew it was a Blazer, but mildly Hondified. Eh, why not?
Back at my old Honda dealership I was treated like they wanted to actually sell me something, and allowed to take the car for a drive. I didn’t feel as cramped as I did in the Blazer version and the lease deal was great. End of long story.
I’m generally happy with the car. I do think there’s a few GM-like quirks that could be better refined. Some folks are experiencing CV joint issues (but not me..yet,) but there are no recalls (knock on wood.)
My biggest gripe is with that barely functional HondaLink app that is part OnStar. It needs to be completely deleted and recoded from the ground up.
Honda sold 33,017 Prologue EVs, which means this midsize electric two-row crossover actually outsold its combustion-powered in-showroom rival. The V6-powered Honda Passport sold 32,527 units
This math ain’t mathin
33,017 – 32,527 = 490 more Prologue than Passport. If my maths mathed correctly.
I swear that said 35 before.
Outside the one the Blazer EV that sat in one of the most backwoods Chevrolet dealers I think could exist, I have yet to see any of the actual Chevy EV’s on the road. But lo’ and behold, I actually saw one of these Honda’s like twice at one of my local grocery stores, getting charged up! I was genuinely confused yet impressed when I saw it.
Thank you for recording your one data point.
Glad to! Anything to add to the nonsense.
So… when do I get my EV Tacoma?
No surprise here. When the deal was struck everyone thought EV sales were going to continue to accelerate and an increasing pace. So Honda agreed to buy a minimum of 35k units the first year. So they need to sell them and they are doing the deals necessary to move the metal. As one of the local dealers used to advertise “price sells cars” and the low lease rates on the Prologue is a major factor in moving the metal. When I looked at the local deals a month or so a go the Prologue was the cheapest to lease vehicle coming in less than a base Civic.
Meanwhile GM is laughing all the way to the bank as they are making money on every Prologue that rolls off the assembly line and Honda is likely loosing money on everyone they lease, now and likely in the future when all those leases come back and they are likely worth less than the residual.
I think another interesting comparison is the Acura ZDX to the Cadillac Lyriq, which is again the same as the Honda Prologue and Chevy Blazer EV but with the larger battery and a couple other neat upgrades.
It may be that people in that price range go to Polestar or Rivian or something.
The Lyriq still has Carplay and AA. Plus Acura isn’t as big a player in the luxury marketplace as Honda is in the mainstream
Ultimately, though, it was the lease deals
We got a lyriq and honestly, the zdx wasn’t even a consideration. It’s quite nice on the inside of the lyriq, has carplay (though I don’t personally use it) and at 0 down and 525/month it was a no brainer.
Interesting stats…I’m only vaguely aware of the Prologue, but I’ve seen quite a few Equinoxes and Blazer EVs so far (in an area normally dominated by Honda). As usual, I’ll go ahead and blame post-Covid lack of dealer allocation…it seems to be affecting both Honda and Toyota above all — their dealer lots are still empty, and the dealers are selling more custom orders than from inventory. If you can’t see a Prologue, you might not even KNOW to order a Prologue.
I’m also a wee bit surprised because the CR-V hybrid is just so good, I could see it putting a damper on BEV sales within a single brand. But still, good for them. Their whole lineup is as strong as its ever been, at least since the 90s.
No problem with dealer allocations for the Prologue, at least in my area there are several on the lot and ready to lease.
Our Honda dealer seems to maintain such high margins (sketchy), their front row of cars is dominated by a ’93 Del Sol that belongs to one of their techs. I’ve been frustrated by EV allocations since the first-gen Leaf. They’re simply not getting to the places where they can make the most impact, but as a business decision, it makes sense to send them to places where it’s a guarantee sale. They’re not running a charity, but at the same time, if you want to know why overall EV uptake isn’t higher, that’s the answer — lack of breadth.
Also, 0% financing with no prepayment penalty is a hell of a good incentive at a time when my credit union is offering 4-5% on CDs and money market accounts.
We got one last week. Directly compared the Blazer EV to the Prologue. Here’s why we got the Prologue:
– the Ultium platform is pretty good, and the fact that Honda is willing to put its name on it means that their engineers agreed
– Honda undid all the bad Chevy styling and bad ergonomics of the Blazer EV. My wife couldn’t even see the dashboard correctly in the Chevy.
– Honda had really good discounts and dealers were informed on the car’s details. The Chevy people couldn’t answer questions.
So far we are extremely happy with it. Amazing vehicle.
” the Ultium platform is pretty good, and the fact that Honda is willing to put its name on it means that their engineers agreed”
Honda also put its badge on the Isuzu Rodeo as the Honda Passport. When it first came out my buddy told me he’d never buy one. The local mall had one on display and his very young son walked up to it and pulled the grill right off! That didn’t exactly inspire confidence in its build quality.
35 years ago?
31
Don’t forget the rebadged Trooper called the Acura SLX! Then in Europe, Honda’s used Isuzu diesels and then the rebadged Odyssey known as the Oasis (at least that was a good car).
And the Land Rover Discovery, Honda has been down this road a few times
Honda’s Prologue Touring AWD $99/mo, $2999 down deal afforded me the opportunity to realize I will never lease until I move out of Maryland – the state collects sales tax on the full sales price, effectively torpedoing that idea with an extra $3000 surcharge. Otherwise, it looked like an attractive option to upgrade from the CR-V.
First of all, That isn’t the experience we had when we looked at BOTH the Equinox and the Prologue. In our case the quotes we got for leasing worked out heavily in the Equinox’s favor. Secondly, the Equinox was nicer than the Honda version. As in somehow even though they’re the same product the interior in the Chevy was nicer. After seeing both I assume people have no clue they are more or less the same car. People are dumb.
The Prologue is twinned with the Blazer EV, not the Equinox.
Soon GM will be selling its EVs as Hondas, Nissans, and Mitsubishis. WIN!
I wonder how many Prologue buyers even know that it’s a GM platform? Of those that don’t I wonder how many would care?
We did. The dealers weren’t shy about it either.
In my mind, GM has always been decent at engineering. Lots of people still rocking 20+ year old Suburbans and Silverados around here.
It’s the in-your-face styling and interior crappiness where they fall down, and Honda addressed those.
It is interesting how this is playing out. I’d attribute it to “trust” with Honda for some buyers over GM, but you’d also think you’d see a similar bump for people who trust Toyota and want an EV. Yet I’m seeing Prologues all over and I see a Busy Forks once a month. I know the Toyota/Subaru is kind of a dud, where the Prologue is pretty competitive, so maybe Toyota can’t sell anything just because it is a Toyota. I personally do think the Prologue looks like a nice package.
As of late, I’d probably say Prologues are the most common EV I see after Teslas. Maybe it is neck and neck with the F150 Lightning.
And as with anything with dealers, the lease deals are YMMV. On Lease Hackr, I see a recent 2025 Equinox LT deal for $3600 one pay for 2 years/10k or $150/month. Similar Prologue deal was $5500 for a EX or $6500 for a Touring or $229/$270 a month. So how much is CarPlay worth it to you?
I feel like I don’t see many Prologues. I have a neighbor that has 1 and that is about it. I am in Mid-Atlantic and Tesla is definitely #1 but I see a lot of Konas, Bolts, VW ID.4
It’s always interesting to see two companies price the same car differently.
GM is already achieving volumes since it is essentially profiting from both Honda and Chevy’s sale of the same car. So they might be happy taking more margin on their offering.
Depending on how Honda priced the deal with GM it might be taking a margin hit in order to hit certain milestones/volumes. Or are just desperate to try and get some sort of market share even if it means selling a competitor’s product.
The small changes that Honda did made the car better or more user friendly:
1) Start/Stop button. GM implementation is good but I had cases where the car didn’t shut down while closing the door or having an active phone call, I had to shut the car down from the screen after leaving the car.
2) Apple Carplay, no explanation needed.
3) The screens are slightly smaller, GM screens are huge, very distracting.
4) More buttons on the center console for HVAC adjustments
5) The center console design is better. For some reason the Chevy Blazer EV when you plug your phone in the USB C, the cord sticks up and out, you cannot close the center sliding compartment. I have to plug my phone from the back seat and run the cord to the front. That sliding compartment that is below the air vents in the Blazer EV is so deep that whatever goes in there you cannot retrieve it, you have to stop, get up from your seat, hold the steering wheel and look down.
The Equinox EV has a similar center console design compared to the Prologue.
I saw one up close this past weekend, and I have to say, I like the H o n d a across the back end – the updated font is quite appropriate to my eyes.
as a prologue buyer, yes to all of this.
Two real Honda UX fails:
Otherwise we really like our Touring AWD, given the usual EV caveats (cold eats miles, hills eat miles).
Those specific items are GM decisions. The new stalk is very confusing at first, the wiper selector has very small font and you cannot see it when its dark, the dome lights are very weak.
OR:
“Honda’s most popular EV is actually a GM”
Buddy of mine outside Seattle bought one a couple months ago – Traded the F150 on it.
Had intended on a Cadillac Lyric – but CarPlay, etc….
He installed Solar too.
Loves it.
Yeah, that seems a little more accurate to me.
also acceptable would be “Honda’s only EV is a GM”
The Lyric has CarPlay & Android Auto, it’s the only GM branded Ultium vehicle with it since it was released before GM implemented the no CarPlay/AA thing.