IN AUSTRALIA, THE CURRENT WAR IN IRAN has resulted in large increases in fuel prices and led to surge in the sale of BEVs (battery electric vehicles). In June, BEVs accounted for more than 23 percent of all new vehicle sales and, in the passenger car market, a remarkable 35.8 percent, a figure most pundits predicted we wouldn’t see for some years (if ever!).

You’d think the future of EVs is assured, but that may not be so.

In the US, Honda has announced that it will end production of the one electric vehicle it sells in the US, the Prologue SUV.

Last year, the US ended the federal EV tax credit program, effectively doing away with stringent fuel economy rules that were driving consumers towards EVs. The effect was immediate; EV sales fell 30 percent in June (year on year).

Carmakers including Volkswagen Stellantis and Ford are moving away from their previously aggressive push to increase EV production.

Earlier this year, Honda announced that it would also be scrapping its forthcoming EV program which would have seen three new models being built in Ohio and Canada. Like many rivals, Honda is now focusing on hybrid vehicles for the US market.

The Prologue was announced in late 2022, when optimism for EVs was considerably stronger. The SUV was built at the General Motors Mexican plant in Coahuila and went on sale in 2024.

Honda has been slow to join the move to EVs, and partnering with GM to use its harware was seen as a way for the company to catch up quickly.

The Prologue appealed to buyers used to Honda’s fuel-efficient and hybrid cars.

But as other manufactruers of EVs have discovered, reaching critical mass was not as easy as it first appeared. Honda only managed to sell around 40,000 Prologues last year, despite low-cost lease deals and other incentives being offered. And that figure was only a tenth of Honda’s top-selling petrol and hybrid CR-V.