--- title: "Honda Just Killed Every EV It Planned to Build in America. Here Is What That Means for Your Next Car Purchase." description: "Honda canceled the 0 Series SUV, 0 Series Saloon, and Acura RSX, citing tariffs and EV incentive death. The company expects up to 5.8 billion in losses. After the Prologue ends in 2026, Honda will have zero EVs in the U.S. Kia and Hyundai are also retreating. Shop now while options exist." canonical: "https://sidekick.vin/takes/honda-just-killed-every-ev-it-planned-to-build-in-america-here-is-what-that-means-for-your-next-car-purchase" type: "take" category: "money-move" author: "Mira" publishedAt: "2026-03-13T11:51:13.120Z" readTimeMinutes: 6 keywords: [] --- # Honda Just Killed Every EV It Planned to Build in America. Here Is What That Means for Your Next Car Purchase. > **TL;DR:** Honda canceled the 0 Series SUV, 0 Series Saloon, and Acura RSX, citing tariffs and EV incentive death. The company expects up to 5.8 billion in losses. After the Prologue ends in 2026, Honda will have zero EVs in the U.S. Kia and Hyundai are also retreating. Shop now while options exist. **TL;DR** - Honda just killed all three EVs it planned to build in the U.S., citing tariffs and the dead $7,500 tax credit, and is booking up to $15.8 billion in losses. - If you were waiting for a Honda or Acura EV, your only remaining option, the Prologue, ends after the 2026 model year. After that, Honda has zero EVs for American buyers. - Shop the shrinking EV landscape now while dealer incentives are aggressive, get pre-approved at a credit union, and negotiate hard on any Prologue left on the lot. --- ## Key Numbers at a Glance | Metric | Figure | Source | |--------|--------|--------| | Honda EVs canceled | 3 (0 Series SUV, 0 Series Saloon, Acura RSX) | [Car and Driver](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70722299/honda-0-series-suv-saloon-acura-rsx-canceled/), March 12, 2026 | | Projected financial losses | Up to $15.8 billion | Honda corporate announcement, March 12, 2026 | | Executive pay cuts | Up to 30% of monthly salary for 3 months | Honda corporate announcement, March 12, 2026 | | Federal EV tax credit | $0 (eliminated September 2025) | IRS, September 2025 | | Honda Prologue end date | After 2026 model year | Honda corporate, 2025 | | Ohio EV factory status | Retooling halted, future unclear | [Car and Driver](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70722299/honda-0-series-suv-saloon-acura-rsx-canceled/), March 12, 2026 | | Other EVs canceled in 2026 | Kia Niro EV (final year), Hyundai scaling back | [Car and Driver](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70714876/kia-niro-ev-discontinued/), March 11, 2026 | Last verified: March 13, 2026 --- Honda did not sugarcoat this one. In a corporate announcement this week, Honda confirmed it is canceling development and U.S. sales of the 0 Series SUV, the 0 Series Saloon, and the Acura RSX. All three were supposed to be built at Honda's manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio, which has spent the last two years retooling for electric production. The reason? Honda pointed directly at American tariff policies and what it called the "volatile policy environment" around EV incentives and fossil fuel regulations. Translation: the 25% import tariff on vehicles and parts is bleeding automakers dry, the $7,500 federal EV tax credit is dead, and nobody knows what comes next. The financial damage is staggering. Honda expects to book up to $15.8 billion in write-downs, impairments, and cancellation costs. Several top executives are returning up to 30% of their monthly salaries for three months. When the C-suite starts giving money back, you know the numbers are bad. ## What This Means for Buyers Here is the part nobody is talking about: if you were planning to buy a Honda or Acura EV in the next few years, your options just collapsed to nearly zero. **The Honda Prologue**, built by GM on the Ultium platform, is the only Honda EV currently available in America. It ends after the 2026 model year. Honda has announced no replacement. After that, the Honda EV lineup in the United States is empty. The Acura ZDX, also GM-built, faces the same fate. No next-generation model has been confirmed. This is not just a Honda problem. The EV landscape is shrinking across the board: - **Kia** confirmed the Niro EV is in its final year (2026), according to [Car and Driver](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70714876/kia-niro-ev-discontinued/) reporting on March 11, 2026 - **Hyundai** is scaling back U.S. EV plans, dropping the Ioniq 6 and delaying Korean-built EV launches, per [Automobilwoche](https://www.automobilwoche.de/) reporting in March 2026 - **The $7,500 federal EV tax credit** was eliminated in September 2025, removing the single biggest incentive for buyers For buyers who were counting on an expanding EV market with more choices and lower prices, the opposite is happening. Fewer models, fewer incentives, and automakers retreating rather than competing. ## The Cost Math That Killed These Cars Honda was unusually blunt about why. In its announcement, the company said it "expected to incur further financial losses over the long term" if it launched these vehicles. Here is the math working against them: **Development cost per model.** A ground-up EV platform typically costs $3 billion to $5 billion to develop, according to industry estimates from [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights). Honda was building three models on a new architecture. That is $9 billion to $15 billion before a single car ships. **The tariff hit.** The 25% Section 232 tariff on imported vehicles and auto parts, implemented in April 2025, adds thousands to the cost of every vehicle with non-U.S. content. Even domestic assembly does not eliminate the tariff entirely; imported battery cells, motors, and components still get hit. Ford reported losing $1 billion to tariffs in 2025 alone. GM absorbed $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, according to [Cox Automotive](https://www.coxautoinc.com/) estimates. **The missing incentive.** Without the $7,500 federal tax credit, every EV is $7,500 more expensive for buyers overnight. That is not a rounding error. On a $45,000 vehicle, it is a 17% effective price increase. Buyers who were on the fence just fell off. **The China factor.** Honda admitted it "was simply unable to deliver products that offer a better value than that of newer Chinese manufacturers." Chinese EVs are selling for $10,000 to $15,000 in their home market. Even with tariffs, the cost gap between what Honda can build and what Chinese brands can offer is enormous. Honda chose not to compete at a loss. ## How We Calculated the Buyer Impact The effective cost increase for Honda EV buyers is straightforward: - A $45,000 Honda 0 Series SUV with a $7,500 tax credit would have had an effective price of $37,500 - Without the credit: $45,000 (a 20% increase in out-of-pocket cost) - Add tariff pass-through of $2,000 to $4,000 on components, and the real price is $47,000 to $49,000 - The gap between what buyers expected to pay and what Honda would have needed to charge: roughly $10,000 to $11,500 per vehicle At those numbers, the business case collapses. Honda did the math and walked away. ## What You Should Actually Do ### If you were waiting for a Honda/Acura EV: 1. **Shop the Prologue now, not later.** It is the last Honda EV for the foreseeable future. Dealers may offer aggressive incentives to clear inventory before the model year ends. Get pre-approved at a credit union (average 3.89% APR vs. 9% to 12% at the dealer, per [Bankrate](https://www.bankrate.com/) March 2026 data) before you walk in. 2. **Look at the remaining EV field.** Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Kia EV6 are still available. Compare total cost of ownership over 5 years, not just sticker price. 3. **Consider a hybrid.** Honda is pivoting hard to hybrids. The CR-V Hybrid and Accord Hybrid remain strong options with 40+ MPG and no range anxiety. At $3.60/gallon gas (AAA, March 12, 2026), a 40 MPG hybrid saves $1,350 per year in fuel vs. a 25 MPG gas-only model driving 15,000 miles annually. 4. **Do not count on future EV incentives returning.** Honda's decision signals that automakers are not betting on policy reversal. Plan your purchase around current pricing, not hoped-for credits. 5. **If you own a Prologue, hold it.** Scarcity drives residual value. With no replacement coming, the Prologue could hold value better than expected as the only Honda EV ever sold in America. ## FAQ **Will Honda sell any EVs in the U.S. after 2026?** Not immediately. Honda said it would announce a "revised mid- to long-term strategy" in May 2026, but provided no specifics on future U.S. EV models. The Marysville factory's future is unclear. **Does this affect Honda hybrids?** No. Honda is doubling down on hybrids. The CR-V Hybrid, Accord Hybrid, and Civic Hybrid remain in production and are expected to expand. **What happens to the Ohio factory?** Honda provided only vague language about establishing a "fixed-cost structure appropriate for the scale." The factory spent two years retooling for EV production that is now canceled. Job impacts have not been disclosed. **Can I still get a $7,500 tax credit on any EV?** No. The federal EV tax credit was eliminated in September 2025. Some state-level incentives still exist (California, Colorado, New Jersey, and others), but the federal credit is gone. **Is this related to the 25% auto tariff?** Directly. Honda specifically cited "American tariff policies" as a reason for the cancellation. The tariff makes imported components more expensive, raising the cost of every vehicle Honda builds, even domestically. --- ## Sources - [Car and Driver: Honda Cancels All Three EVs Planned for U.S. Production](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70722299/honda-0-series-suv-saloon-acura-rsx-canceled/), March 12, 2026 - [Car and Driver: 2026 Will Be the Kia Niro EV's Final Year](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70714876/kia-niro-ev-discontinued/), March 11, 2026 - Honda Corporate Announcement, March 12, 2026 - [Cox Automotive](https://www.coxautoinc.com/), tariff impact estimates, 2025 - [AAA Gas Prices](https://gasprices.aaa.com/), March 12, 2026 - [Bankrate](https://www.bankrate.com/), auto loan rate data, March 2026