Honda to delay next-generation ZR-V, Accord after expensive EV cancellations – report

Honda will stretch out the lifespan of some of its current models as the Japanese auto brand seeks to claw back money it has lost due to its failed electric vehicle (EV) push in the US.

The company is writing off US$15.8 billion (A$22bn) after cancelling five EVs in March. First, Honda pulled the plug on the 0 Saloon, the 0 SUV, and the Acura RSX, and then a week later it nixed the Afeela sedan and SUV it was jointly developing with Sony.

All five EVs were to be made at the company’s factory in Marysville, Ohio. Production of the 0 SUV was due to start by the middle of 2026, while the 0 Saloon, RSX and Afeela sedan were set to roll down the production line by the end of the year.

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For now, Honda has scaled back its EV plans to a smattering of kei cars, including the Super-One hatch that’s been confirmed for Australia, a few models for the Chinese market, and the upcoming 0 Alpha, which will be built in India and possibly sold in Australia.

When announcing the cancellations, Honda said it would focus its energies on hybrid technology, and the US and Asian markets.

To help balance out the red ink on its ledger, the company is also adjusting product plans. A memo sent to US dealers and seen by Automotive News says Honda will delay replacements for the current Accord, the North American Odyssey, and the North American HR-V (which is sold in Australia and the rest of the world as the ZR-V), as well as the Acura Integra and MDX.

The memo says the Accord will become a hybrid-only model when the 12th-generation model begins production in early 2030, two years behind its usual five-year cycle.

For the last few generations, Australian-market Accords have come from Thailand, where the production cycle lags a year or two behind the US.

The model known as the HR-V in the US, and which we know as the ZR-V, has been in production since 2022. According to the memo, the next-generation model won’t come online in the US until 2032, two years later than originally expected.

It’s the fifth-generation North American Odyssey that’s most in need of a major update, though, with the car dating back to 2017. The V6-powered people mover received minor facelifts in 2021 and 2025, but it lacks features seen in competitors, like all-wheel drive that’s available in the Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica, and a hybrid drivetrain (Sienna and Kia Carnival).

A new Odyssey with a standard hybrid drivetrain (likely the company’s new V6 hybrid system) is now said to be coming in March 2030.

Sources have told Automotive News the company initially considered temporarily discontinuing the model, but demurred as it feared people mover buyers would defect to other brands.

Acura will also have to tread water with some of its models. The Integra, which is essentially a lightly redesigned Civic with a liftback rear-end, will now soldier on until 2032, which is three years longer than previously thought. Perhaps more worryingly for US dealers, a replacement for the car that debuted in 2022 has yet been confirmed.

Another mainstay of the Acura range not sold in Australia, the MDX – the current version of which was launched in 2022 – will live on until 2031.

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