The Honda CR-V is having a banner year. The compact SUV was the third-best-selling vehicle in the U.S. through the first three quarters of the year – behind only the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado – and is on track for more than 400,000 sales in 2026.
Its success is partly due to low supplies of the Toyota Rav4, which is all-new this year and has switched to an all-hybrid powertrain lineup. Honda has now confirmed that the CR-V will do the same when the next-generation CR-V launches next year as a 2028 model.
“With a 100% hybrid powertrain, the next-generation Honda CR-V will further expand the appeal of America’s most popular SUV as demand for hybrid-electric vehicles reaches record levels,” Luis Guerra, assistant vice president of Honda National Auto Sales, said in a news release.
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Honda released an updated CR-V logo with the announcement, but no details about the vehicle or its styling, other than to say it will be more powerful and efficient. It will continue to be manufactured for the U.S. market at factories in Ohio, Indiana and Canada.
The Honda Hybrid system in the current CR-V primarily uses its electric motors to drive the wheels as a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine works as a generator to provide electricity, but the motor does couple to the drivetrain at highway speeds through a single-speed transmission.
Honda will also be expanding its hybrid offerings to its larger models with a new V6-based powertrain and recently announced a $3 billion investment for a new plant in Ohio that will build some of the yet-to-be announced vehicles.
