The first models available for sale will be the DX and ZDX Type S.
Honda has big plans for the new year, with electric vehicles set to play a significant role, according to Mamadou Diallo, the newly appointed vice president of the company.
Overall, Honda officially plans to produce 1.2 million vehicles in 2023, while Acura aims to sell 160,000 vehicles—a 20-25 percent increase from its 2022 sales.
“In 2023, we will see the strategies we’ve discussed, including increased SUV sales, higher production of hybrid-electric models, and the start of online sales at Acura,” Diallo stated in a press release. “All of this leads to our vision of achieving 100 percent electrified vehicle sales by 2040, toward our ultimate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.”
The ZDX and ZDX Type S will be Acura’s first fully electric vehicles and herald a new strategy of exclusively online EV sales. Diallo did not provide much additional information on how the system would work—such as whether bargaining would be allowed or how custom vehicle pricing would be set—but assured journalists: “As we get closer to the ZDX launch, we’ll certainly be discussing this in more detail with our dealers and the press. For now, we’re still finalizing the details.” Acura joins Ford, Volvo, GM, and VW in shifting EV sales to the online marketplace.
Honda, for its part, plans a significant increase in hybrid production in 2023, beginning with revamped Accord and Accord Hybrid models (which will also be the first Honda vehicles with integrated Google systems). The company “will continue to increase hybrid sales as an important step in transitioning customers to EVs while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gases,” the press release states. Honda expects that a large portion of its sales this year will come from hybrid models like the CR-V and Accord, with further growth anticipated with the launch of the new Civic hybrid. Pre-orders for the Prologue EV will begin this year, with customer deliveries expected in 2024.