Honda’s Hybrid Sales Were Strong In January — Except for the Prelude

Honda had a solid start to the year in the United States, with 98,594 vehicles sold in January (up by 1.9% year-on-year), including Acura sales. The automaker says this was a strong result, particularly because sales were hampered by severe winter weather in the second half of the month, which affected the Northeast and Southeast regions of the country. Excluding Acura, Honda sold 89,575 vehicles (+1.7%), boosted by strong SUV, passenger car, and hybrid sales. However, sales of the Prelude—a model that’s been the subject of heated debate for months—suggest demand is still low for the contentious coupe.

Passport Leads SUV Growth For Honda

While the CR-V retained its position as the top-selling Honda SUV on 27,019 units (with hybrids accounting for 55%), it’s the Passport that showed the most impressive year-on-year growth for the Japanese company. 4,320 Passports were sold last month, up by an impressive 63.5%; this was a record January for the Passport, and the TrailSport variants continue to be hugely popular, making up over 80% of the sales mix.

After the CR-V, Honda’s best-selling SUVs were the Pilot (9,607) and HR-V (9,488). The Odyssey minivan registered 5,334 sales, while the Ridgeline hit 3,625 units, a healthy 26.5% increase. In line with declining EV sales, the Prologue only moved 664 units last month, down by 82.3% relative to January 2025.

Honda’s Accord sold 12,739 units, up by 31.9%, while the Civic was at 16,563, an increase of 2.4%. The Civic Hybrid also set a new January sales record, and Honda says sedan and hatchback sales were strong due to demand for affordable options.

What About The Prelude?

In only its second full month on sale, Honda sold 216 Preludes. Although that’s more than the 174 Preludes sold in November, it’s still a low number for such a revered nameplate. Honda did confirm that the Prelude’s nationwide rollout is ongoing, though, so we may see these sales tick upward as inventory improves.

But there’s no looking past the fact that the Prelude has the odds stacked against it. It makes no more power than a far cheaper Civic Si or Civic Hybrid, yet it starts at a steep $42,000. For just $970 more, you can drive off in the Nissan Z, which makes precisely twice the horsepower from a potent V6.

What It Means

Throughout 2025, Honda faced challenges like supply constraints, partly as a result of microchip shortages, and it will be looking to eradicate these as early as possible. It also saw passenger car sales decline by 3.9%. Already, we’re seeing an improvement in 2026, as Honda passenger car sales went up by 14.2%.

Updates for the Civic Type R later in the year are unlikely to have a major effect on sales volumes, but increased production of budget CR-V, Civic, and Accord trims could be more impactful. Other brands like Ford have also reported a growing demand for cheaper trims.

Honda will also need to keep an eye on newer, fresher rivals like the Toyota RAV4 and Kia Telluride, which could eat into sales of the CR-V and Pilot, respectively, once they take off. The successful strategy of leaning more heavily into the TrailSport sub-brand has paid off for the Passport, and Honda could potentially repeat this formula with the CR-V and Pilot, both of which feel in need of a more substantial update.