Honda Accord PHEV.
Last Updated:
Honda has been selling a PHEV version of the new Accord (as well as the CR-V) in China for a few months. The obvious question is: why not here???
As you can see, the interior is also slightly revised compared to what we get in North America. The electronic shifter from the previous generation is back and the large round dial/screen on the lower dash also looks much more modern than the US model.
The white and black interior is also something we can’t get here and it does have quite a Tesla interior vibe. This is just so much better than the dark grey-black interior we get over here, although to be fair, a lighter grey/black interior is also available in the US.
And of course, that super large panoramic sunroof has been available on the overseas Accord for years, but never here. Which is just plain stupid, especially when the Camry does offer it.
The Accord PHEV is rated at some crazy 106 miles of pure EV range in the very optimistic Chinese test cycle. This would still probably translate into something over 60 miles over here, which would be quite excellent. Even around 50 would be great.
Honda claims to do a big push into hybrids and electrification in general in the US, yet, they are now behind the new Camry. The Accord is still offered with a non-hybris 1.5 Liter Tubo as the base model, while the 2025 Toyota Camry is a hybrid-only model. On top of this, they have multiple PHEV models overseas we are not getting.
And they keep unveiling more affordable EVs, also for the Chinese market, while all we will be getting for the next few years is the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX. These are probably great but hardly affordable.
This is really too bad…
60 miles EV range is a game changer and will make pure EVs irrelevant. Bring it on.
This is at least encouraging to me, even though we wont be getting it in the US. I’m glad Honda has them because that means we MIGHT get them in some alternate universe of the future. But I also think they’re getting Chinese batteries, and thats just too expensive to try to ship to N.A. for an Accord priced car. Consider however that Honda is building a battery manufacturing facility in OH near the Marysville plant. Honda is flexible enough that they could put those in PHEVs and not just BEVs. So I’m hopeful. Plus, Americans are just beginning to wake up to using electrics (hybrid, PHEV or BEV)… unless you live in CA. Now, what I think Honda will do here in North America is: Civic will debut next year and ramp through 2025. First the sedan, then the hatch. What I also think they’ll do is re-arrange the HRV trims to have the high trim levels be hybrid. By having the Civic hybrids and HRV hybrids delayed, they’re filling the demand for the higher profit CRV and Accord first while they ramp battery availability here. Then Civic and HRV. Let’s hope they’re working on a larger platform hybrid for the Odyssey etc… But there, I think they’re hoping their lighter, higher charge density battery will be available first. However, if their BEVs aren’t commercially successful – which is highly likely (Prologue, ZDX and the e:NY1), they’re ready to push PHEVs with that new US-based supply – in about 2-3 years. I do think this will also mean we’ll see the current small-platform vehicles have 2 refreshes but not full redesigns, going well up to 2030, like the current models did.
I still dont know why Honda got rid of their parchment colored interiors. I really hate BLACK, but that’s what their designers or bean counters are into. Black wheels, black allover the body, black seats and dashes, black headliners. Well, we do get actual shifters and climate control buttons. Do better Honda!
Instead, we got the clarity, which they hit with the ugly stick. Cmon Honda, we can’t buy em if you don’t build em.