From January to April, American Honda continued its strong sales, showing a year-to-date jump of more than 12% to over 450k vehicles. Unfortunately for Acura, the same percentage was applied on a negative basis as its deliveries declined by 12.5% to almost 41k vehicles.
In fact, the only Acura model that registered a positive performance was the RDX 'premium sport crossover.' In contrast, the Integra dropped almost 20% during the first four months of the year alongside the TLX (nearly 40%) and MDX (over 27%). That's pretty worrying, frankly, for the corner office head honchos for sure. Naturally, there's a big need for a pile of solutions, right?
Honda's premium division has begun the first customer deliveries of the all-electric 2024 ZDX crossover and its ZDX Type S high-performance variant, but probably no one – not even the gods of EVs – would believe that this is the model that will stop the tumbling sales. Instead, there are higher chances of seeing the 2025 MDX perform a comeback as the 'premium performance SUV' received a host of upgrades in April, complete with bolder styling, better technology across the board, and more premium features like a Bang & Olufsen audio system.
Additionally, starting early next year, the first-ever Acura ADX, a new premium SUV, will join the roster with a turbocharged powertrain as "another gateway to the Acura brand for young premium buyers" featured alongside the Integra liftback. However, it seems that the rumor mill and imaginative realm of digital car content creators don't believe even that will be enough to turn the tides in the right direction.
Speaking of entry-level models that could provide a boon of sales for the premium Japanese brand, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has recently taken up the task of CGI-revealing an Acura Integra Hybrid version to stand beside the $31,800 Integra turbo (1.5-liter, 200 hp and six-speed manual or CVT) and bridge the gap to the 320-hp Integra Type S, which costs no less than $51,800 solely with the six-speed manual transmission.
The pixel master only focused on the potential styling of the hypothetical, unofficial Integra Hybrid, gifting it with a subtle facelift in the process that mostly changes the front fascia details. In terms of powertrain, it could be easy to imagine that after Honda is done with the introduction of the refreshed 2025 Civic and the Civic Hybrid arrives in America, it could be followed by an Acura Integra Hybrid sibling to boost sales. After all, hybrids are all the rage now as the EVs have not taken flight just yet.
For sure, it would be a smart move, but most likely, it won't come soon – not for the 2025 model year and maybe not even for 2026MY because Honda would first want to capitalize on the potential popularity of the 2025 Honda Civic facelift and 2025 Civic Hybrid before letting Acura borrow the eco-friendly powertrain. Right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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