Future Acura electric cars will be sold online only, parent Honda said Wednesday in a press release.
"Acura will serve as the tip of the spec for digitalization at American Honda," the release said, "with 100% of Acura EV sales taking place online, starting in 2024 with the ZDX and ZDX Type S."
Last seen in the form of a coupe-like version of the MDX mid-size crossover that was discontinued in 2013, the ZDX will be Acura's first EV, with the Type S performance version also planned. Pre-sales will begin in 2023 ahead of the planned 2024 start of deliveries, Acura said.
Acura Precision EV Concept
Acura has said the ZDX will feature styling cues previewed by the Precision EV concept unveiled in August 2022 during Monterey Car Week. While styled internally, the ZDX's engineering will come via a partnership with General Motors. The Acura will draw from GM's Ultium component set, and likely ride on the BEV3 architecture used by the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV.
The same partnership will also see GM supply engineering for the 2024 Honda Prologue electric SUV, which is scheduled to arrive within the same timeframe as the ZDX. It appears Honda is sticking to conventional dealerships for this model, however.
Honda plans to launch EVs for both its main brand and Acura based on an in-house architecture in 2026. The automaker is developing an Ohio "EV hub" and plans to build a $3.5 billion joint venture battery plant to support North American EV production, including the new Afeela EV brand launching in partnership with Sony.
2024 Acura ZDX Type S prototype
The shift to EVs has led other automakers to reevaluate how they sell cars, although most plan to retool existing franchised dealerships instead of shifting to online sales.
Ford and General Motors have asked dealerships to make significant investments to sell EVs, with Ford also requiring dealers to agree to no-haggle pricing. Two-thirds of Ford dealers have reportedly opted into EV sales, along with a lower number of Lincoln dealers from the Blue Oval's luxury brand. GM has offered buyouts to Cadillac and Buick dealers that want to opt out of EV sales.
