- Ramos Arzipe produces the Honda Prologue, Cadillac Optiq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Equinox and ICE Blazer.
- The plant once had three shifts, but now only has two.
- Honda says this is to better match the market demand of the Prologue.
Perhaps we should call Mexico the real electric vehicle “hub.” For General Motors, and the Honda and Acura brands it’s now making EVs for, its Mexican plant in Ramos Arzipe produces a lot of increasingly popular cars. Yet, despite the relative success of cars like the Honda Prologue and Chevrolet Blazer EV, we’re learning that the factory is actually removing a shift and laying off people, at the behest of Honda.
That plant is a very important plant for GM’s EV models. Currently, it makes the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, the forthcoming Cadillac Optiq and the Honda Prologue. The gas-powered Chevy Blazer is made there, too.
However, after adding a third shift eight months ago, GM is going back to two shifts, Automotive News first reported. The outlet also reported that production at Ramos Arzipe had increased to 32,500 units per month, up from 25,000 per month before the third shift was added. The reduction impacts 800 workers.
It’s a curious decision to hear about, especially since GM’s EV sales had an outstanding 2024 and the Prologue turned out to be the surprise hit of the year (not to mention the best-selling GM-made EV.) So what happened?
Interestingly, the reduction of this shift comes at the behest of Honda, which told InsideEVs that it’s “tweaking production” to match demand.
The Prologue had a strong introductory year, responsible for more than 46,000 units produced at the Ramos Arzipe plant with about 33,000 units making their way to U.S. driveways. Yet that might not be the full story here. We reached out to both Honda and GM to ask if the shift cut was tied to the on-again, off-again 25% tariff on Mexican goods; representatives from both companies said no.
“It is quite normal in our business to make production adjustments during the year in order to meet customer needs and market conditions. We will continue to carefully manage production and inventory of our entire product lineup to meet anticipated demand in 2025,” a Honda spokesperson said.
But, as of right now, demand seems strong, right? Honda dealers are excited to have EVs, as we’ve reported recently.
The actual math is likely a bit more complicated, though. According to data from CarEdge, despite the Prologue’s success in the market, there still may be too many Prologues waiting on lots. The market-day supply (that is, the average amount of time a car sits at a dealership until it is sold) is generally above average for EVs. The 10th quickest-selling EV is the Subaru Solterra, which has a whopping 96-day supply. The Prologue is not on this list, so it’s unclear whether it’s flying off dealer lots or has to be moved primarily with deals and incentives. By comparison, Honda’s average market day supply for all of its models, including the Prologue, is 69 days.
So, although the Prologue is selling at a decent clip and is responsible for Honda’s growth in EV world, there’s a real possibility that there are still too many units on dealer lots, making the vehicle ill-matched to actual demand. Also, given the state of limbo the EV tax credit situation is, it’s not exactly clear if things will get better in the immediate future.
That, of course, doesn’t mean that Honda is giving up on EVs. For now, the Prologue will serve as Honda’s lone EV until its EV hub is up and running by the end of this year. When it’s finally running, we’ll have at least two EVs from the brand on the roads by early 2026. But Honda may be waiting for things to even out, or settle, before it figures out how many Prologues to get out to its dealers.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
