Since many car manufacturers make electric cars, sedans, and SUVs, Honda Motor Co Ltd in Japan has decided to mass-produce small cars.
Honda e has been released in Europe in early August 2020 with a compact model for the needs of vehicles in urban areas. With a retro design, the ultra-compact Honda e evokes the classic Honda N360 and N600 models from the 1960s.
This model will only go on sale in Europe and Japan from the end of October 2020. Honda expects annual sales of only around 10,000 in Europe and 1,000 in Japan.
The two-door Honda e is intended to be a high-end city car, which costs around 33,000 Euros (39 thousand US Dollars), more expensive than the Renault Zoe ZE50. Even though the Renault car is wider and has a longer mileage.
“We questioned, are larger vehicles suitable for urban areas?” Tomofumi Ichinose, Honda’s Chief Engineer, told the press earlier this week as quoted by Reuters.
Unlike Tesla Inc. which launched the Model 3s sedan to dominate the EV battery-based car market. Likewise with Audi AG and Hyundai Motor Co, which produce electric SUVs with long distances.
The Honda e has a battery capacity of roughly half that of the Model 3, which is capable of traveling 280 kilometers per charge.
“Most EVs use large capacity batteries, but often, a lot of that capacity goes unused during city driving,” Ichinose said.
High production costs and battery maintenance have made electric vehicles at the forefront of the premium car market. So many car manufacturers are developing larger multi-purpose models, some of which can drive 570 kilometers on a single charge.
According to Ichinose, Honda’s engineers had prioritized accurate and sharp handling to allow easy turning on narrow roads.
The side mirrors have been replaced with an interior view to avoid bumps and scratches during parking.
The automaker said it has no plans to market the Honda e electric car in North America or China, which dominate the SUV market.
