UTSUNOMIYA (JAPAN) – At a time when most vehicle manufacturers are placing their bets on SUVs and sedans in their transition to electric vehicles (EV), Honda Motor Co Ltd of Japan has decided to focus on smaller cars. Earlier this month, released the Honda e in Europe, which is a compact fully battery-powered model for driving in the city.
This competes with Tesla’s Model 3 sedan which is the ruler of the EV market along with Audi AG and Hyundai Motor Co that have focused on SUVs with long driving ranges.
Because of high battery costs, EVs have remained at the premium end of the automobile market and many auto manufacturers are going for bigger, all-purpose models which can clock 570 kilometres on a single charge.
On the other hand, Honda e’s better capacity is limited as it can cover just 280 km with a single charge.
“Most EVs use large capacity batteries, but often, much of that capacity goes unused during city driving,” said Tomofumi Ichinose, chief engineer of the Honda e.
“We question whether larger vehicles are appropriate for urban areas, and believe that smaller is a better option for cities.”
The model comes with a retro, ultra-compact design evoking memories of Honda’s classic N360 and N600 models from the 1960s. The two-door car is intended to be an upmarket model and it is priced around 33,000 euros ($39,000), which is higher than Renault’s Zoe ZE50 which has more space and driving range.
The Honda e has been built in such a way to easily navigate u-turns in narrow streets and side mirrors have given way to interior displays to avoid scrapes during parking.
The vehicle will be sold in Japan and Europe only and it will arrive at showrooms in late October.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.