American Honda shared its business outlook for 2025 in a recent media briefing. In terms of electrification, the next 12 months for Honda will be much the same: a facelift of tried-and-true ICE models like the CR-V and Passport. However, there was some interesting news from Honda related to the BEV: the automaker showed that it will begin US production of an Acura RSX EV.
Honda and its premium sub-brand Acura, by the way, are getting more and more policies on the Electrek homepage thanks to combined efforts to charge new BEV models. . . this transition has still been relatively slow compared to other OEMs.
Nevertheless, Honda launched the all-electric Prologue, which has found quick success with US consumers. Shortly thereafter, Acura launched the ZDX, which sits atop the same Ultium platform as Prologue, provided through a partnership with GM.
While we wait for those Honda BEVs to arrive, we can expect to see a new Acura style hit the market first, in an SUV called the Performance EV Concept, which debuted at Monterey Car Week last August. At the time, Acura’s design studio described the concept as “the evolution of Acura’s performance-focused design direction and the brand’s upcoming all-electric styling. “
This new production style hasn’t had a call yet, but we’ve learned it will be the first BEV to ride on Honda’s new custom platform and the first all-electric style to roll off its production lines. meeting at the new Honda EV Hub in Marysville. Ohio Matrix.
Today we learned that the Performance EV concept has a full passenger style with a familiar name: Acura RSX EV.
During a press conference earlier this week, American Honda shared its outlook for 2025, through Vice President of Sales Lance Woelfer. This year’s strategy includes generating its first original BEV in Ohio and globally sourced portions, such as a new hybrid style and several ICE (boo) vehicles.
Woelfer confirmed that the first bespoke all-electric model coming out of Ohio will be the Acura RSX EV. This move marks the return of a notable nameplate in the Acura lineup that evolved from the original Honda Integra. The Acura RSX was sold in North America from the early- to mid-2000s and still has a decent fanbase, especially amongst fans of the Honda Integra and Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) enthusiasts.
Acura revived the Integra nameplate in 2021 as a liftback based on the Honda Civic and while that styling is crisp, it’s still combustion, which is why Acura revived the RSX designation as an EV style. By Mike Langel, assistant vice president, Acura Domestic Sales.
The nameplate pays homage to the Acura RSX with its coupe-like silhouette, but it truly represents a forward-looking approach to fun-to-drive performance. Our second all-electric SUV will solidify our EV credentials even as its ICE stablemates, the all-new ADX, RDX, MDX, TLX and Integra continue to attract new buyers to the Acura brand.
The Acura RSX EV, seen with the exclusive camouflage above, looks pretty sleek, but I hope Integra and RSX purists will dismiss this new style flatout because it’s undeniably an SUV, not a sporty compact like the vehicles in question. This reminds me of when Ford brought in the Mustang Mach-E and logo loyalists said, “It’s not a Mustang. “Like the Mach-E, the Acura RSX EV represents a new generation of styles of functionality, whatever you want to call it.
The new SUV also represents a massive step for Honda and its premium brand, as the Acura RSX EV will be the first model to utilize Honda’s new EV platform and its new ASIMO OS operating system introduced at CES 2025. At the time, Honda said ASIMO will constantly update its in-vehicle software via over-the-air (OTA) updates for both the digital UX and integrated dynamics controls that will allow the automaker to deliver “a personalized ownership experience that will enhance the joy of driving.”
Acura says the RSX EV is expected to begin real-world progression testing this week ahead of planned production in Ohio later this year. We plan to make a stop at Honda’s EV Hub later this month, so we can capture some photographs of where this new SUV will be built or, better yet, take a closer look at the prototype.