by Acura’s Strategy Shift: Hybrids Instead of Electric
Although electric vehicle sales continue to grow, they have not increased as rapidly as some industry experts and automakers expected. Consequently, more and more brands are turning their attention to hybrids, viewing them as an important intermediate step between traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) and electric vehicles. Acura has become the latest automaker to follow this trend.
Although its parent company Honda has several hybrid models in its lineup, Acura has long remained loyal to ICE and electric vehicles, largely ignoring hybrid powertrains. Now, American Honda CEO Kazuhiro Takizawa has acknowledged that due to “customer demand, it is unrealistic” to focus only on electric vehicles in the future.
We will maximize production of ICE and hybrid models to meet our customers’ needs in North America. This means continuing key ICE models and adding hybrid products. Our strategy of investing in flexible production at our EV hub in Ohio is proving very wise. It will allow us to produce ICE models, hybrids, and electric vehicles on the same production lines and flexibly adjust production based on customer demand.
Importantly, buyers should not expect to see hybrids from Acura for quite some time. When asked why Acura doesn’t simply borrow the Civic’s hybrid powertrain for a car like the Integra, Takizawa-san noted that it typically takes several years to retrofit a car to that extent.
More Than an Engine Swap
When you change the powertrain, with crash tests and everything else, we have to start from scratch. Our engineers say it’s quite difficult. But, of course, it’s not impossible, and we have the technology, so it’s just a matter of time and model development. To create a new car, we usually need four years or more. With that timeline, we will have to wait. Even after we make the decision, it still takes several years. So it’s just a matter of time.
In a separate interview with Auto News, Acura’s Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Honda Motor Co.’s automobile division, Katsushi Inoue, said that hybrids have “always been an option, but now we are taking that option very seriously.”
He did not specify which Acura models might receive a hybrid powertrain but indicated that the automaker is considering adding hybrids to existing models and is also exploring potential all-new hybrid models.
This change in course reflects a broader trend in the automotive industry, where many manufacturers are reassessing their electric strategies due to various market factors. The production line flexibility mentioned by Takizawa is becoming a key advantage for automakers seeking to adapt to changing demand without significant additional investment in new production capacity.
