Acura appears to be the latest brand that’s rethinking its electrification strategy. Despite having recently showcased the revived RSX Prototype during Monterey Car Week as an electrified and software-defined crossover — rather than the sporty hatchback it used to be — Honda leadership seems keen to move the luxury brand back toward traditional powertrains.
Five years ago, Acura was making the same bold promises as every other brand regarding its planned pivot toward EVs to boost performance and allegedly save the planet. Honda previously expected that 60 percent of Acura’s sales would be fully electric by 2030. That no longer seems possible, so the brand has been forced to change course.
According to The Drive, American Honda CEO Kazuhiro Takizawa has said that “looking at the customer demand, it’s not realistic” to continue running with EVs. He reportedly blamed America’s lackluster charging infrastructure and shifting government policies. But it was ultimately insufficient consumer demand holding electrified models back.
“We will max production of ICE and hybrid models to meet the needs of our customers in North America. This means extending key ICE models and adding hybrid products. Our strategy to invest in flexible production in our EV hub in Ohio is proving very smart. This will enable us to make ICE, hybrid, and EV models on the same production lines, and adjust production fluidly based on customer demands,” Takizawa said during an executive roundtable held in Monterey.
In fact, the new RSX (pictured) could serve as an example of why the strategy isn’t working. North America hasn’t embraced all-electric vehicles like manufacturers had hoped. Consumers are likewise catching on that software-defined vehicles ultimately mean they’re losing control over the products they own. But price and convenience are the main factors holding EVs back.
The dual-motor RSX is anticipated to start around $55,000. That places it in just above the spicy version of the Ford “Mustang” Mach-E, which likewise took the name of a famous sports car and then applied it to an all-electric crossover. While it now outsells Ford’s original pony car, demand appeared to be declining prior to the brand issuing a sales pause to address a recall of the EV’s electrical system — diminishing its long-term prospects.
While EVs are supposed to be cheaper to run overall, high initial costs and issues with charging availability have scared drivers off. Overall quality is likewise middling, matching what we’ve seen from modern combustion vehicles that are often easier/cheaper to fix. The automotive industry has clearly been focused on connectivity, A.I. integration, and software over the last several years, arguably allowing the fundamentals of sound manufacturing to fall by the wayside.
Regardless of the reasons why, consumers haven’t gravitated toward EVs and are now openly bemoaning the general direction the industry has taken. With government subsidies likewise drying up, loads of brands are now signaling revised product strategies. All-electric vehicles will become less of a priority so that companies can offer combustion or hybrid powertrains — likely with lower price tags than their battery electric equivalents.
However, Honda and Acura aren’t giving up on battery driven vehicles entirely. While Honda has clearly held off on pushing electrics as aggressively as some of its rivals, a portion of the market still wants EVs and it clearly plans on launching new EVs in other markets. Development will continue and Acura likewise still plans on launching the RSX in the summer of 2026. Honda has also partnered with several other major automakers in an attempt to bolster North America’s charging infrastructure.
“We are also participating in Ionna [an EV infrastructure initiative]. Without charging, we cannot sell BEVs. Without BEVs, charging stations cannot be profitable enough. But I’m sure gradually these pain points will be solved and the customer will have a much better experience in EV life. We’re also participating in making our effort to solve the pain points of the customer on that side of the infrastructure.” Takizawa noted at the meeting.
We’ll have to see how this all plays out in the years ahead. But something tells me that average car buyers are going to continue insisting that the industry return to traditional designs. Having seen how modern trends have impacted consumer goods on the whole, odds are decent that most drivers aren’t going to want software-defined vehicles requiring specialized repairs. Connectivity has also become a line in the sand for privacy advocates and the right-to-repair movement.
Most importantly, pricing will need to come down if automakers want to maintain their existing volumes. While MSRPs have become bloated across the board, EVs prices have remained especially high. This despite years of government subsidization and dealer markdowns attempting to boost demand. While we’ve heard reports of battery costs declining for roughly fifteen years, they don’t appear to have made much of a difference in the automotive realm. Meanwhile, sales of new vehicles still haven’t recovered to a point where they match the kind of volumes witnessed prior to 2020.
[Images: Honda]
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