Honda Australia's first EV to arrive in 2026 range expansion, alongside facelifted CR-Z and ZR-V SUVs
Honda Australia has confirmed this can introduce its first entirely electric automobile to Australia, alongside with a slew of hybrid alternatives and upgraded within gadget in 2026.
The Japanese automobile producer radically scaled abet its lineup and sales expectations because it switched to a more top rate-priced substitute model in 2020, but Honda urged Chasing Autos it has now secured the stability to expand its local product ambitions.
Honda’s sales are down 5.3 percent up to now this year, with easiest three volume-promoting autos within the HR-V shrimp SUV, alongside with the ZR-V and CR-V midsize SUVs.
More hybrids coming to Australia
Facelifted variations of the CR-V midsize SUV and ZR-V upper-shrimp SUV will lead the charge in 2026, with seven current hybrid grades joining the fleet. A current all-wheel-force hybrid option will moreover change into available, but it’s unclear if right here is for one or both of those devices.
A shuffle-in hybrid CR-V that contains 80km of electric vary, is moreover below consideration.
By the time the present devices and grades come, hybrids will fable for 80 percent of Honda’s local lineup, a ratio it says is foremost with hybrids expected to produce up 90 percent of the trace’s sales in 2026.
The introduction of the Novel Vehicle Emissions Long-established in Australia has considered automobile producers reevaluate their product lineups and glimpse to introduce cleaner hybrid, shuffle-in hybrid and entirely electric autos to lead optimistic of dealing with heavy fines.
Prelude and a thriller EV confirmed
Honda will moreover expand its lineup with the return of the Prelude in mid-2026, with the coupe returning completely in hybrid guise for now. Be taught our separate article for more records.
Though unnamed right this moment, Honda has confirmed this can moreover introduce its first entirely electric automobile to Australia within the 2nd half of 2026, and has more on the horizon.
Honda for the time being provides the Prologue midsize SUV in North The United States, but a more likely candidate for local introduction is the e:Ny1, an electric model of the HR-V already sold locally.
Currently on sale subsequent door in Novel Zealand branded the e:N1, it aspects a 68.8kWh lithium-ion battery and a 150kW/310Nm entrance electric motor providing 412km of vary, in accordance to the most regularly more realistic WLTP attempting out protocols.
More EVs on the horizon
While hybrids remain the well-known focus for the Australian market, Honda is eyeing the introduction of more entirely electric autos within the upcoming years.
Production variations of the Honda Zero Sequence ideas, first unveiled in 2024, encompass a sedan and SUV. Both are below shut consideration for our market.
Put to flow on sale globally in 2026, the manufacturing variations are inclined to feature less radical styling and aspects than the ideas we’ve considered previously, but an aggressive specialise in aerodynamics and vitality effectivity, alongside with technology corresponding to high-density batteries and steer-by-wire, is anticipated to remain.
The currently appointed president and CEO of Honda Australia, Jay Joseph, urged Chasing Autos the groundwork had been laid over the previous couple of years to provide the trace self assurance to magnify its sales ambitions in Australia.
“We’re in a factual dispute to invent what we’re talking about this day”, he talked about.
Director of car Robert Thorp added that “the entirety is on the table” in reference to autos for the time being sold in markets corresponding to China, North The United States and Europe, though he admitted the instability of the realm market, in particular in relation to tariffs imposed by the US govt on other international locations, supposed they needed to make a decision on devices reasonably.
Google-primarily based gadget to magnify
Subsequent year, Honda will proceed to roll out its Join Gen2 gadget, already learned on the Civic and Accord, to more devices.
The gadget enables larger interconnectivity between the driver’s phone and the car, to video show accepted elements such because the condition, remotely commence up and adjust the climate adjust sooner than they hop within the car.
Within the Accord, the gadget moreover provides the capability to illustrate Google maps within the digital gauge cluster, leaving the multimedia veil free to construct other tasks.
Source credit : chasingcars.com.au