Honda may bring the Element crossover back to its model lineup.

According to preliminary data, the revived SUV of the Japanese brand will appear in 2029, and it is expected to feature a hybrid powertrain.

Like a number of other automakers, Honda recently had to reconsider its development strategy due to insufficiently high customer interest in electric vehicles. As a result, the company decided, among other things, to focus on hybrids and bring back models that have gone down in history. Thus, after the successful revival of the Honda Prelude, the Japanese company is thinking about returning another name from the past to its lineup.

As Automotive News reports, citing its own sources familiar with the company’s plans, Honda intends to revive the Element crossover. Recall that this SUV, reminiscent of a minivan, was produced in the United States in a single generation – from 2002 to 2011. The model was offered with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine (before its retirement, its output was 169 hp, maximum torque – 220 Nm), with front- or all-wheel drive.

The peak year for the model that has gone down in history was 2003: then the Honda Element sold about 67,500 units in the States. After that, sales figures gradually declined throughout its entire life cycle. By the time production ended in 2011, the crossover’s annual sales had fallen to 11,500 units.

According to the news agency, production of the new Honda Element is planned to begin in the second quarter of 2029 at the company’s plant located in the state of Ohio. It is expected that the cars will come off only this assembly line, and already in the first full year Honda wants to produce about 100,000 units of the revived model. According to preliminary data, sales in the States will begin later that same year.

It is assumed that in the American model lineup, the new Element will take a place between the Honda HR-V and CR-V. Likely, in the States, the upcoming SUV will compete with the Ford Bronco Sport, which debuted in 2020 and was updated in 2024. Recall that it is based on the C2 passenger car platform, which links the crossover to the Ford Maverick pickup truck. The current Bronco Sport is offered either with a 1.5-liter turbo-three or a 2.0-liter turbo-four.

In turn, the revived Honda Element crossover is expected to feature a hybrid powertrain, though no details about it are available yet. It is expected that the design of the new model will lean toward the style of its predecessor, meaning the SUV could get “squared-off” shapes, widened wheel arches, and a massive body kit.

It is not excluded that the developers may also retain the main highlights of the “first” Element – side clamshell doors and a two-piece tailgate, the upper part of which opens upward as usual, while the lower part can turn into a fold-down panel and be used as a seat.

There are no official details about the new Honda Element crossover yet. Its starting price will likely fall between the entry-level price tags of the HR-V, which costs at least $26,600 in the US (equivalent to roughly 2 million rubles at the current exchange rate), and the CR-V, which costs at least $30,920 (about 2.33 million rubles), while Americans pay at least $35,630 (about 2.68 million rubles) for the hybrid Honda CR-V.