Honda's first electric SUV will be called the Prologue

Honda finally has a name for its first electric SUV, not to mention more precise timing. As Roadshow notes, the automaker has revealed that this EV people hauler (not pictured here) will be called the Prologue when it arrives in early 2024. You'll also see the promised Acura SUV sometime in calendar 2024, although that vaguer promise suggests this model will trail its more mainstream counterpart.

The company still isn't providing much detail about what the Prologue will entail, although it reiterated that both the Prologue and its Acura counterpart will run on GM's Ultium batteries. Don't expect that tie-up to last long, though, as Honda also promises EVs in the second half of the decade based on a new "e:Architecture."

The Prologue could be one of Honda's most important cars in recent memory. The company plans to shift completely to EVs by 2040, with 40 percent of major-market sales either using batteries or hydrogen fuel cells by 2030. If the brand is going to meet those goals, it needs to roll out broadly appealing EVs rather than relatively niche models like the Honda E compact. The Prologue will start that course and show just how well Honda can transition away from combustion engines.