Disneyland Refreshing Autopia Around Electric Vehicles
Did I know there was an Autopia at Disneyland? No, I did not. But I’m very happy to hear that Disney is now refreshing it in order to center it around electric cars. Of course, it’s good Disneyland is in California rather than Florida (where Disney World is) — an attempt to electrify Autopia in Florida would probably be outlawed.
The refresh is supposed to happen in 2026, according to the Los Angeles Times. It’s a big relief for EV advocates who thought Disneyland might try to work in hybrids of various sorts as well as full electrics. Note that Honda has been Autopia’s sponsor since 2016, and Honda has been perhaps the top laggard in the transition to full electric vehicles. Though, Honda scored a 10-year sponsorship back then, so it does end in 2026. Perhaps a different company will sponsor the electrified Autopia.
“We consider this a victory and thank Disneyland for making the right choice for employees, visitors and the air we all breathe,” Zan Dubin, co-founder of National Drive Electric Week, said in a statement. “Employees work eight-hour shifts standing inches away from Autopia’s smog-spewing tailpipes,” she added. Great point!
This is not the first time Autopia has evolved. When it launched in 1955 (yes, 1955), it was sponsored by Richfield Oil. Then, from 2000–2012, it was sponsored by Chevron. Honda could remain the sponsor once this portion of Disneyland is focused on electric cars, if Honda is ready to finally join the EV transition in earnest and uses this revamp as a launch for that. Alternatively, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, GM, or some other automakers could take over sponsorship. Or Tesla? Well, let’s not go overboard — that’s not how Tesla rolls.
“By electrifying an attraction once sponsored by oil companies and conceived in the golden age of automotive optimism, Disney (and perhaps Honda) could set an example and acknowledge that shifting to EVs will save thousands of lives by 2050,” Stephen Edelstein writes. I agree. It’s a great opportunity to highlight the EV revolution and communicate its benefits to more people.
One positive note on Honda, it’s now got the Honda Prologue EV, and the company has been advertising the heck out of it. I see more ads for the Prologue EV than probably any other EV these days, and it’s been like that for a while. If Honda is pushing the EV that hard right now, how much more will it be eager to push its EVs in 2026? Hmm … maybe Honda will remain the sponsor. We’ll see. It’s also got the very futuristic 0 Series platform and a few attractive electric cars it will be selling in China that I’m sure many Californians would love to buy.
Honda also just recently announced that it will build batteries for electric cars in Ontario, Canada. It’s supposed to be a huge factory, the largest in Canada by far. “According to Nikkei, North America accounts for roughly 40% of Honda’s global sales. Most of the vehicles sold there still have combustion engines, however, the company plans for electric cars to account for 40% of sales in North America by 2030 and up to 80% by 2035,” Steve Hanley recently wrote when covering that news. As he noted, perhaps we just need to have some patience considering how far behind the US EV market has been.
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