Honda revived the Prelude as a hybrid. Here's how its sales fell flat. – USA Today
Honda unveiled its new Prelude hybrid-electric car to great fanfare, but the initial sales for the model were lackluster.
The Japanese automaker reported on Monday, Jan. 5, sales of just 174 Preludes in December 2025, compared to 7,323 sales of its Civic hybrid and 6,407 of its Accord hybrid sedans.The December transactions follow sales of just 30 Preludes in November after its initial launch.
Honda said in a September 2025 press release announcing the launch of the Prelude as a new hybrid model that the new car was “inspired by fun-to-drive performance, legacy of innovation, and dynamic styling of earlier generations.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing back such an iconic nameplate to the Honda lineup,” Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda National Auto Sales, said in a statement in September 2025. “The Prelude’s return demonstrates our commitment to exciting, fun-to-drive vehicles and will help to accelerate our hybrid-electric sales in the years ahead.”
Honda said its “first-ever electrified Prelude is powered by the ultra-smooth, responsive and fuel-efficient Honda two-motor hybrid-electric system found in the award-winning Civic hybrid models.”
The CR-V was Honda’s best selling hybrid in December 2025.
Here’s how the manufacturers’ other hybrid models fared in the month:
Honda first started using the Prelude name in 1978. The Japanese manufacturer produced five generations of the model before sunsetting it in 2001. The 2026 hybrid version of the vehicle starts at $42,000, excluding destination charges.
