Honda has selected General Motors as its technology and manufacturing partner to help it speed up development of electric vehicles. This collaboration won’t just spawn Honda-badged models, but also ones bearing an Acura badge, and the first Acura EV may be called ADX.
Car & Driver discovered that Honda has applied for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the ADX name, which is surely destined for an Acura model. We currently don’t know if this nameplate will actually be used or what type of vehicle it’s going to be used for, but it would make sense for Acura to use a new name for its first electric vehicle.
What we do know is that the Acura EV will be underpinned by a General Motors platform, as well as the fact that it will be powered by an Ultium battery pack and powertrain. And even if the ADX name turns out to be used for some other model, the Acura version of the new Honda HR-V is a contender, the luxury automaker is definitely working on an electric model.
Acura is not going to take risks with its first EV (one it will exclusively sell in the United States) and all reports are pointing towards it being a trendy crossover, not a hatch or sedan. Honda has already confirmed that its new Ultium EV will, in fact, be a crossover that revives the Prologue name and arrives in 2024 (the same time frame could apply for the Acura EV too).
Honda aims to sell around 70,000 Prologue EV SUVs per year and even though the vehicle will be built by GM, its exterior and interior design will be all Honda. The Japanese automaker will also try to imbue the vehicle with its own qualities, in order to make it feel more like a Honda.
