Honda’s Next Move: Hybrids, EVs, and Supply

I’ve been covering car companies long enough to recognize the moment when the messaging changes. Not the polished “we’re excited” stuff. The practical stuff. The part where an executive stops talking about big dreams and starts talking about what they can actually build, how fast they can build it, and what buyers are really doing with their money. 

That’s what came through in my interview with Lance Woelfer, vice president of Automobile Sales at American Honda Motor Co. If you’re trying to understand what Honda is going to be in 2026 and beyond—hybrid-heavy, TrailSport-curious, and still stubbornly committed to the EV long game​ this conversation is a pretty clean window into what’s next. 

Lance’s framing was refreshingly grounded: yes, 2025 was solid. Yes, the market is “kind of through it” after the ugliest supply-chain years. But the hangover from COVID-era buying hasn’t vanished—it has simply shifted from “can you get the car?” to “who is even coming back into the market right now?” 

As he put it, “during COVID we just sold less cars.” That matters more than it sounds, because fewer vehicles sold a few years ago means fewer trade-ins and fewer lease returns today. Honda leases a meaningful chunk of its business​ Lance said, “we lease it like 30ish percent”—so when that pipeline shrinks, the whole market feels it. The good news, he added, is those lease customers are “really starting to increase as we go through this year.” 

That’s the background hum behind Honda’s “moving forward” story: normalize supply, keep hybrids hot, keep SUVs and light trucks emotionally appealing, and keep EV development moving even if the U.S. market isn’t behaving exactly the way anyone predicted two years ago. 

Why does this matter right now? 

Because 2026 is shaping up to be one of those years where the industry stops talking about recovery and starts acting like growth is expected​ quietly, cautiously, but clearly. 

Honda’s near-term objective is simple: keep cars on lots, keep pricing rational, and give shoppers the powertrains they’re already voting for. Honda doesn’t sound like a brand trying to reinvent itself overnight. It sounds like a brand trying to make sure you can actually buy the thing you’ve decided you want. 

Lance acknowledged supply is better overall, but he didn’t pretend it’s perfect: “we recently had a supply issue that impacted us November and December.” The key line for buyers is what comes next. Honda, he said, is “fully utilizing production,” and as they enter the year they’re sitting at “30, 35 day supply,” which he called “a good position as we head into the winter months and then ultimately spring.” 

That’s not just internal logistics. That’s your reality as a shopper. A healthier day-supply typically means more choice, less weirdness, and fewer moments where a dealer tries to persuade you that the trim you didn’t want is “basically the same” as the one you did. 

From there, Honda’s “what’s next” splits into three lanes: 

1.Hybrids as the center of gravity (not the side dish) 

Lance didn’t talk about hybrids like a compliance exercise. He talked about them like a product people have already accepted​ maybe even preferred. He cited how strong the take-rate is in key models: “the Accord at 50% ish, CR-V at 50% of the lineup.” That’s not “some buyers.” That’s half. 

2.The emotional packaging of SUVs and light trucks 

Honda sees TrailSport not as a niche off-road badge, but as a consumer mood. Lance’s explanation was honest and slightly amused: “Well, I think it’s fun too. Right.” He’s not dismissing capability—he noted it can be “about the drivability… or those consumers who do take them off road”​ but he also understands the aspirational part of it. People want to feel prepared. They want something that looks like it can handle a surprise life event, even if the biggest obstacle it faces is a wet Costco parking lot. 

3.EVs as the long lead-time bet 

Honda isn’t pretending EV adoption is exploding everywhere. Lance called it what it is: “the market is maybe not what we originally would have thought two years ago.” And then he did the more important thing​ he explained why Honda is still building anyway. “It’s still 5% of the market and 16 million vehicles, that’s 800,000 opportunities.” 

That’s a pragmatic argument. If you’re Honda, you don’t get to ignore 800,000 buyers a year, even if you wish it were 1.8 million. 

What makes this matter right now is that Honda is trying to do all three lanes at once​ without sounding panicked. More hybrids now. More supply now. EVs coming because product development timelines don’t wait for the news cycle to settle down. 

How does it compare to rivals or alternatives? 

In broad strokes, Honda is pursuing a strategy that looks a lot like what buyers have rewarded lately: electrify the mainstream with hybrids, keep SUVs fresh and emotionally resonant, and keep EVs moving through development even if the market is uneven. 

But the difference is in tone and emphasis. 

Some rivals talk about EVs like a cliff dive: jump now, figure out the landing later. Honda’s approach sounds more like a well-lit staircase. It’s not “everything becomes electric tomorrow.” It’s “keep selling what people want today while building what they’ll want next.” 

Hybrids are the clearest competitive lens. If half of Accord and CR-V buyers are choosing hybrid variants, Honda is effectively telling the market: you don’t have to be an early adopter, you just have to like saving fuel and enjoying smoother power delivery. The hybrid buyer isn’t a rare creature anymore; it’s normal. That’s a powerful place to be, especially when full EV adoption is still patchy depending on region, charging access, and household routines. 

Then there’s the “bigger vehicle” question—Odyssey and Pilot hybrids, the thing people keep asking Honda about because it feels obvious from the outside. Honda’s answer right now is carefully structured. Lance recapped the current hybrid lineup“Civic, Accord, CR-V and… the Prelude”—and then added the forward-looking piece: “we did recently announce that we are developing a V6 Hybrid 2 motor hybrid system… for larger platform vehicles.” 

If you read between the lines, Honda is signaling technical readiness without making product promises. Lance was explicit: “we’re not making any product announcements today.” He even underscored why it hasn’t happened yet in a way that will frustrate some shoppers but makes business sense: “currently we’re selling all the Odysseys pilots that we can make.” In other words, when you’re at or near production capacity, the first fight is volume—adding a new powertrain can complicate production in the short term. 

On the SUV front, TrailSport is Honda’s answer to a wider industry move: giving buyers rugged cues and a “ready for anything” feel without demanding that they become rock crawlers. Everyone has some flavor of this now. Honda’s twist is that it’s trying to make TrailSport part of the brand’s mainstream identity, not just a one-off trim. 

And on EVs, Honda is trying to avoid being judged purely on today’s EV market share. The Zero Series plan is timed to real development cycles and manufacturing cadence. Lance laid out the sequence plainly: “the Zero Series is still coming. The first… will be the RSX that begins production later this year, the second half of this year… SUV will come next and then the saloon probably 2027.” 

Compared to rivals with EVs already saturating their lineups, Honda may look “late.” Compared to rivals still struggling to deliver a coherent EV strategy, Honda looks deliberate. The bigger question is whether the U.S. EV market in 2027 looks more like a slow simmer or a rolling boil. Honda is betting it will be bigger than it is now—and that it’s worth being ready. 

Who is this for, and who should skip it? 

This story is for you if you are: 

• A Honda shopper trying to decide whether to wait or buy now 

The “30, 35-day supply” comment matters if you’re tired of weird pricing and limited selection. More supply usually means a calmer buying experience. Not always cheap. But calmer. 

• A hybrid-curious buyer who doesn’t want a lifestyle lecture 

Honda’s framing is practical: hybrids are already mainstream in Accord and CR-V, and the technology is being used as a platform for what comes next. Lance talked about the Prelude as a technology showcase,​ “bringing things like the Prelude… and help showcase some of the technology that we have in our hybrids,”​ and then pointed to how that cascades into core products like Civic Hybrid. 

• A family buyer looking at CR-V, Pilot, Passport, or Odyssey 

Honda is clearly prioritizing light trucks and family vehicles as its backbone. If your life involves child seats, sports gear, dogs, or long highway days, Honda is speaking directly to your use case—sometimes without saying it out loud. 

• A “made here” shopper who cares about tariffs and sourcing 

Lance emphasized Honda’s North American production footprint: “over 60% of what we sell in the U.S. is built here. About 99% of what we sell in the US is built in North America.” If you worry about tariff volatility or supply disruptions, that’s not trivia. 

You should probably skip this story if: 

• You only care about a pure EV today and you’re shopping exclusively on range and charging speed 

Honda’s key EVs in this specific roadmap—the Zero Series RSX and what follows—are framed as coming online starting in the second half of 2026. If you’re buying an EV this month, this is more context than immediate guidance. 

• You want definitive announcements about a hybrid Odyssey or Pilot right now 

Honda is clearly aware of the demand, and it’s clearly developing larger hybrid systems, but Lance could not have been more straightforward: “we’re not making any product announcements today.” That might change later, but it is not a promise today. 

• You want drama 

This is not a “Honda is panicking” story. It’s a “Honda is building a plan that fits the way people actually shop” story. Less exciting. More useful. 

What is the long-term significance? 

Honda’s longer-term direction is about resilience​, product resilience, supply resilience, and market-position resilience. 

Start with supply and production. The industry learned, the hard way, that “just in time” only works when the world is behaving. Honda’s posture now is that it wants to keep production humming and avoid the whiplash years where buyers couldn’t find what they wanted. Lance said Honda is “increasing production of some of those more affordable vehicles like the Civic, Accord, and CR-V.” That’s quietly important because it signals Honda wants to compete where volume lives, not only where margins are easiest. 

Then there’s the electrification strategy. Honda is treating hybrids as the bridge technology that buyers already accept. That matters because it lets Honda reduce emissions and fuel consumption across a high volume of vehicles without requiring every household to change its charging habits overnight. It’s also a hedge against policy shifts and infrastructure unevenness. 

On EVs, Honda is making a statement that it sees EVs as “a great option for zero emissions for the long term future.” That line is doing a lot of work. It acknowledges EVs are not the perfect answer for every buyer today, while still anchoring the company’s multi-year investment. 

And on market volatility, Lance’s most revealing comment might not have been about any one product. It was about the mental model of the industry. “I used to… go to sleep with confidence that everything would be the same in the morning,” he said, but now he’s “realizing that it’s a super dynamic market… for the long term.” That’s the adult version of the story. Not “here’s a shiny new model.” It’s “we are building flexibility into the business because the next surprise is always on the way.” 

Finally, there’s the brand identity piece—what Honda wants to feel like in the next few years. Lance is personally excited about the Prelude, calling it “the most… vehicle I’m the most excited about,” and he also lit up talking about ideas that make Honda feel playful again—like the “prototype base station” camper concept. He described a childhood trip—“we drove to Alaska in a VW camper… it was a two week trip. It was amazing”—and you could hear the point: cars are not only appliances. They’re memory machines. Honda seems to want to lean into that again, but without losing the practical core that made people buy Civics and CR-Vs in the first place. 

If Honda pulls this off, the “what’s next” is not a single hero product. It’s a steady tightening of the whole lineup: hybrids where buyers want them, TrailSport where buyers want to feel a bit more capable, EVs timed to a market that may look very different by 2027, and enough supply that buying one doesn’t feel like a minor combat sport. 

And that’s the quiet takeaway from Lance’s interview: Honda isn’t chasing the loudest headline. It’s chasing the buying experience that keeps people coming back—especially when the market can’t decide what it wants to be from one year to the next.