Acura Pulls the Curtain Back on Its New ZDX EV

Acura released its own spy photos of its upcoming 2024 ZDX Type S, the brand’s first all-electric vehicle. The new model previews Acura’s latest design direction.

First introduced during Monterey Car Week in the form of the Acura Precision EV Concept, the ZDX is being co-developed with GM utilizing its global EV Ultium platform. The new Acura model is an expedient placeholder until Acura’s launch of its own EV models in 2026 based on the company’s own global e:Architecture.

“The Acura ZDX represents the start to what will be an accelerated path toward electrification by the end of the decade and the key role the Acura brand will play in our company’s global goal to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050,” said Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of Acura National Sales. “Acura will remain focused on performance in the electrified era and Type S will continue to represent the pinnacle of this direction.”

The return of a failed nameplate

The ZDX is named after a short-lived and utterly forgettable coupe-like SUV that was introduced back in 2013.

Acura clearly is hoping that bad luck won’t repeat itself, even if the name isn’t anywhere near as beloved as the Integra, another old Acura nameplate revived for the 2023. For Acura, the name holds sentimentality as it was the first vehicle styled at the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles in 2007.

It also marks a turning point for the brand, which is expected to be totally electric by 2040, a bit later than most other car brands. But the later deadline reveals a common sentiment among Japanese automakers to resist going all-in for electric development until absolutely necessary.

This is why despite being a pioneer of electrification — its quirky two-seat Insight hybrid beating the Toyota Prius to U.S. showrooms — Acura’s parent, Honda, has fallen well behind competitors worldwide when it comes to transitioning to pure electric power. So Acura’s parent company, Honda Motors, turned to General Motors for help in starting its transition.

The new ZDX, like the upcoming Honda Prologue, will use GM’s new Ultium architecture that also underpins the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Both Prologue and ZDX will launch in 2024 with hardware and batteries sourced from Detroit, which should help them earn federal tax credits. Don’t be surprised if the new Acura seems a bit like the new Lyriq, albeit with its own unique Acura style. Certainly its proportions are pure GM, not Acura. It remains to be seen how well Acura’s own design heritage translates onto a GM platform — a first for both companies.

Details to come

But Acura hasn’t released any in-depth details about its new models, although it says that information is forthcoming. 

Yet given its platform’s origin, it can be expected to have a battery pack with as much as 100 kilowatt-hours of energy — though Acura could also offer multiple packs. Keep in mind that the Cadillac Lyriq launched with a single rear-drive electric motor that generates 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque.

No doubt Acura would opt for twin motors, at least with the ZDX Type S. And it also wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility if it was fitted with the Chevy Blazer SS’s powertrain that pumps out a muscular 557 hp and 684 lb-ft of torque.

While Acura has not announced pricing, don’t be surprised if it starts in the low-to-mid-$40,000 range for the base Acura ZDX, with the Type S coming in around $66,000, as we previously reported.