Overview
- Honda confirmed the seventh‑generation CR‑V will be sold only as a hybrid when it launches next year as a 2028 model and will use the company’s next‑generation two‑motor hybrid with a newly developed electric all‑wheel‑drive unit.
- The automaker says the new hybrid system and platform target more than a 10% improvement in fuel economy by widening the engine’s efficient operating range and improving the hybrid unit’s driving efficiency.
- To support the shift, Honda plans major North American production work including a 250% increase in hybrid‑unit capacity at its Ohio transmission plant and retooling the Anna Engine Plant for a new Atkinson‑cycle four‑cylinder while keeping final assembly in Ohio, Indiana and Ontario.
- Company and analyst commentary note the change follows strong consumer demand—hybrids already account for over half of CR‑V sales and about 30% of Honda’s U.S. brand sales—but removing a lower‑cost gasoline entry risks raising the CR‑V’s starting price unless platform cost savings hold.
- Honda presented the CR‑V and other next‑generation products to U.S. dealers in November and says the CR‑V is the first of several hybrid models planned for North America through 2030, signaling a broader pivot toward electrified mainstream SUVs.