Honda's 2028 CR-V will be hybrid-only, joining the hybrid RAV4 and electric Model Y. 2026 sales, prices, MPG and range for America's top 3 SUVs, and what $4 gas means for buyers.
Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
The gas-only Honda CR-V has an end date. On November 12, Honda said the next-generation 2028 CR-V will be sold only as a hybrid when it arrives in 2027. It's the first time in the CR-V's 30 years in America that buyers won't be able to get one with just a gas engine.
That matters beyond Honda showrooms. The CR-V, the Toyota RAV4 and the Tesla Model Y are America's three best-selling SUVs in 2026. The RAV4 already went hybrid-only for 2026, and the Model Y has always been electric. Once the new CR-V lands, all three of the country's most popular SUVs will be hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric, a trend InsideEVs flagged the same day. Here's what that means for prices, fuel economy and your next purchase.
*CR-V and RAV4 through October; Model Y is an estimate through September, since Tesla doesn't report US sales by model.
The seventh-generation CR-V gets a new platform, a new design and only one powertrain: Honda's fifth-generation two-motor hybrid. Honda says the new system widens the range where the engine runs at its most efficient. All-wheel-drive models get a newly developed electric AWD unit that Honda says gives more precise, responsive control.
Honda's stated goal is a more than 10% improvement in fuel economy over the current hybrid. It has not released EPA ratings, horsepower, prices or an on-sale date beyond "next year."
Production stays in North America. The CR-V will be built at Honda's East Liberty, Ohio, and Indiana plants and at Honda of Canada Manufacturing. Honda's Ohio transmission plant will build the hybrid system and is being retooled to raise hybrid-system capacity 250% in the coming years. A line at the Anna, Ohio, engine plant is being converted to build the CR-V's new Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder.
Honda says the CR-V is the first of several new hybrids it will launch in North America by 2030. Buyers were already heading that way: hybrids made up 53% of CR-V sales in October, a record 18,534 units for the month, according to Honda's October sales report.
The CR-V leads all SUVs this year. The Model Y ranked second through September by estimate, but a recovering RAV4 had a strong October and is closing in.
| SUV | 2026 US sales so far | Powertrains offered | Starting price (incl. destination) | Fuel economy / range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 Honda CR-V | 371,659 (Jan.–Oct.) | 1.5L turbo gas or two-motor hybrid; gas-only ends with 2028 model | $32,970 gas LX; $37,480 Sport Hybrid | Gas: 30 mpg combined (FWD). Hybrid: 43 city / 36 hwy |
| 2027 Toyota RAV4 | 293,552 (Jan.–Oct.) | Hybrid or plug-in hybrid only (since 2026) | $33,895 Hybrid LE FWD; $43,695 PHEV SE | Hybrid: 43 mpg combined (FWD, Toyota est.). PHEV: up to 52 mi electric |
| Tesla Model Y | ~262,491 (Jan.–Sep., est.) | Battery-electric only | $41,630 RWD (incl. $1,390 destination, $250 order fee) | 321 mi EPA range (RWD); up to 357 mi (Premium RWD) |
Sources: Honda, Toyota, Tesla, CarPro, GoodCarBadCar, Autoblog, Cars.com, Edmunds. CR-V prices include a $1,450 destination fee; RAV4 prices include $1,595. Model Y sales are an estimate.
Two things stand out. First, the RAV4's 2026 total is down more than 26% from last year's pace. That wasn't a demand problem. Factory changeovers for the redesigned hybrid-only model left dealers short of cars for much of the year. October was the RAV4's first year-over-year gain of 2026, with 39,888 sales, and it outsold the CR-V for the month.
Second, the RAV4 is no longer a gas-or-hybrid choice at all. About 84% of RAV4s sold are regular hybrids and the rest are plug-in hybrids, Autoblog reports. Toyota made the change for 2026 and buyers are still lining up for it.
The rest of the top 10 is moving too, though more slowly. Nissan's Rogue, the No. 5 SUV through September, is getting a hybrid version. Jeep's 2026 Cherokee is hybrid-only. InsideEVs reports GM is preparing hybrids for three-row SUVs such as the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia.
The real price change: the cheapest CR-V
Today the cheapest hybrid CR-V, the Sport Hybrid, costs $4,510 more than the gas LX ($36,030 vs. $31,520 before destination). If Honda prices the 2028 lineup like today's hybrids, the entry price of a CR-V would jump. Toyota avoided that with the RAV4 by making a front-wheel-drive hybrid the new base model. Honda hasn't said how it will price the new CR-V.
Gas is the reason this is happening faster than automakers planned. AAA's national average stayed above $4 a gallon from July into November. It was $4.27 on October 22 and only dropped below $4 on November 12, to $3.90. On November 14 it was $3.84.
Cox Automotive tied high pump prices to stronger demand for electrified cars. "With gas prices well above $4 a gallon, electric vehicles look better than ever," Cox's Stephanie Valdez Streaty said in its third-quarter EV report. Hybrids alone reached 16% of the US light-vehicle market in the third quarter, InsideEVs reports. Counting plug-ins and EVs, Cox says nearly 25% of third-quarter sales were electrified.
Here's what fuel costs look like for a driver covering 12,000 miles a year (our estimates, using EPA and manufacturer ratings):
| Vehicle | Combined mpg | Yearly fuel at $3.84/gal | Yearly fuel at $4.27/gal |
|---|---|---|---|
| CR-V gas (FWD) | 30 | $1,536 | $1,708 |
| CR-V Hybrid | 40 | $1,152 | $1,281 |
| RAV4 Hybrid (FWD) | 43 | $1,072 | $1,192 |
CR-V Hybrid figure uses Honda's "up to 40 mpg" combined rating. Actual savings depend on trim, driving and local gas prices.
A CR-V Hybrid saves roughly $380 to $430 a year over the gas model at fall 2026 prices. That's small next to a $4,510 gap from the base LX, but the comparison isn't apples to apples: the Sport Hybrid is better equipped. Against the top gas trim, the EX-L at $35,800, the hybrid costs just $230 more and pays that back in well under a year. Consumer Reports estimates the average hybrid costs about $1,700 more than its gas twin and that most pay for themselves within four years, InsideEVs notes.
Should you buy a gas CR-V now?
Only if price is the deciding factor. The 2027 LX is the cheapest way into a new CR-V and likely the last chance to get a gas-only one new. If you want the hybrid anyway, waiting for the 2028 model gets you Honda's promised 10%-plus efficiency gain and a new design. If you want no gas at all, the Model Y is the only one of the three that skips it. Honda has stepped back from EVs for now and dropped the Prologue.
The three biggest SUVs in the country sold about 1.2 million units combined in 2025, InsideEVs reports. When all three are electrified, a large slice of America's most mainstream new-car buyers will be driving a hybrid or EV, whether they went looking for one or not.
For EV makers, that cuts both ways. Hybrids lower fuel bills without changing how people refuel, which makes them an easy sell when gas tops $4. But they also give gas-car shoppers a comfortable middle step instead of a jump straight to battery power. The Model Y's position in the top three shows there is real demand for a fully electric family SUV, but it is now the exception among the leaders, not the rule.
The bottom line: Honda's hybrid-only 2028 CR-V means America's three best-selling SUVs, about 928,000 sales so far this year, will soon offer no gas-only option. RAV4 buyers already made the switch. CR-V shoppers have until the new model arrives in 2027 to buy a gas-only one, and the key unknown is whether Honda keeps the entry price near today's $32,970 LX.
Related: Honda's $3 billion Ohio hybrid plant · Hyundai hybrids hit a record 29% in October · 2027 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid gets NACS
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