Honda’s $9 billion EV gamble just claimed its latest victim

Published Jul 21, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Tyler is an automotive journalist and content contributor at How-To Geek with over three years of experience covering the automotive industry. His work focuses on delivering clear, well-researched, and engaging content that helps readers better understand the vehicles they drive and the technology behind them. Before entering automotive media, he spent five years as an academic editor, developing a strong foundation in research methodology, factual accuracy, and structured analysis. This background informs his journalistic approach today, ensuring that every article balances technical insight with accessibility for a broad audience. Tyler specializes in automotive journalism, content strategy, and SEO-driven publishing, with a particular interest in performance, reliability, and the cultural role of cars. He approaches automotive writing with a distinct philosophy: vehicles should be engaging and expressive, not merely functional tools. This perspective shapes his coverage and allows readers to connect with cars beyond basic specifications. The last year has been a roller-coaster for those competing in the world of electric vehicles. From tariffs to the removal of the federal tax incentive for EVs, demand for electric vehicles has slowed down drastically. For those that invested the most, like Honda, this turbulence has been quite costly. Now it has officially claimed another victim. Honda has officially announced that one of their affordable EVs will be discontinued after the 2026 model year. The most shocking part of this is that the model has only been on the market for two years. This just shows how slim profits have become in the EV market and how even large automakers are going to have to make big adjustments going forward. In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Honda websites and other authoritative sources, including the EPA. Honda will no longer continue producing the Prologue after the 2026 model It has only been on the market for 2 years The Honda Prologue first went on sale back in March 2024, which is just over two years ago now. It may not have blown away its competition, but the electric crossover offered a spacious cabin and reasonable driving range at a price that was hard to argue with. However, with turbulence in the EV market, Honda has already decided to axe the Prologue. Honda and GM abandon their EV partnership Some of you may already know that the Prologue exists as a partnership between Honda and General Motors, with the aim of producing affordable electric vehicles. In fact, the Prologue is essentially a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Equinox EV. Honda made good attempts to hide its roots by altering the styling, but at the end of the day, the two EVs have quite a lot in common. Base Trim Engine EV Base Trim Transmission Automatic Base Trim Drivetrain Front-Wheel Drive Base Trim Horsepower 220 HP Base Trim Torque 243 lb.-ft. Base Trim Fuel Economy Equivalent (city/highway/combined) 113/94/104 mpge Base Trim Battery Type Lithium ion (Li-ion) Make Honda Model Prologue Unfortunately, Honda and GM have decided to part ways. In the wake of the carnage caused by the elimination of the EV federal tax rebate for buying a BEV last year, both companies have decided to completely reassess their strategy when it comes to electric vehicles. The Prologue is simply a victim of this. The deal between the two companies essentially had GM manufacturing the Prologue for the Japanese automaker, so it puts General Motors in a bit of an awkward spot. The plant where the Prologue was built also produces the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq, and it may also be used to produce the upcoming Chevrolet Groove in the future. If you're an owner of a Prologue, Honda offers some words to ease your worries in the wake of the discontinuation. Honda will conclude sales of Prologue later this year following completion of the 2026 model year. Prologue customers will continue to receive full support through our dealer network, including service, parts, and warranty coverage. -Honda Spokesperson The Prologue sold decently well over its two years, but it was running out of steam In its lifetime, it sold tens of thousands of units Close up of the 2024 Honda Prologue using a fast chargerCredit: Honda Usually, when a model gets discontinued, you expect to take a look at its sales figures and see some bleak numbers. However, the story is more complicated for the Prologue. After a really strong launch for the crossover, sales have pretty rapidly dipped off this year, as has been the case for a lot of electric vehicles in 2026. Honda Prologue sales Q2 2026 Model June 2025 (MTD) June 2026 (MTD) Change (%) Q2 2025 (YTD) Q2 2026 (YTD) Change (%) Honda Prologue 2,799 1,683 -39.9% 16,317 8,407 -48.5% Sales of the Prologue have been pretty dismal since the federal tax credit was removed last year in September. Since it hit the market back in 2024, Honda has managed to sell 82,448 units, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at this year's sales figures from the end of Q2. Compared to the end of the second quarter of 2025, Honda has sold around half that number in 2026 so far. This just shows how hard it is to succeed in the EV market right now. When the federal incentive was removed, automakers were forced to slash prices to remain competitive or drop models from their lineup completely. Obviously, Honda has opted for the latter in this case. Honda has to completely restructure their EV strategy, which is costing them Big losses for the company mean some big changes have to happen Front 3/4 shot of a 2027 Honda 0 Saloon Credit: Honda The Prologue being discontinued is only the latest in Honda's woes in the EV market. The brand has been one of the biggest investors in technology for electric vehicles, and it seems that they simply pulled the trigger too early. In fact, the costs that they have incurred in the EV sector meant that last year they recorded the first ever annual loss in the company's history. EV restructuring has cost Honda billions At the end of 2025, Honda posted an annual loss of $2.7 billion, marking the first time in the company's history that they have ever posted a loss. They blame this on the fact that restructuring their plans after the lack of EV demand and the loss of tax incentives will cost them in the ballpark of $9 billion. Honda has had to abandon a lot of the goals that they set in terms of conquering the EV market. They previously had planned to have electric vehicles make up 20 percent of their profits by 2030, which would have been no small feat for a company with such a diverse sales portfolio. The automaker says that they are expecting to mark $16 billion in losses by the end of the year. They haven't abandoned electrification by any means, though, and still have a lot of plans for the future. The Prologue getting discontinued underlines a long list of losses for Honda Being one of the largest investors in the EV segment, it makes sense that Honda has been hit the hardest by the slow down in demand of electric vehicles. After only two years on the market, they have already decided to pull the plug on the Prologue nameplate, which underlines a series of disheartening announcements from the Japanese automakers. Honda has literally lost billions betting on electric vehicles, and it looks like the losses will only keep rolling.