When it comes to electric vehicles most of the automakers bet on SUVs and Sedans. On the other hand, Japan Honda Motor Co Limited decided to go with the smaller alternative and rolled out its first-ever battery-running car.
The Honda-e released in Europe earlier this month contains a compact structure meant only for city driving. It was a contrast which Tesla Inc., whose model 3 Sedan dominates the battery electric vehicle market and other such as Audi AG and Hyundai motor that focused on SUV with long driving.
The high battery has kept the electric vehicle at the premium end of the car market, and many automakers are developing bigger all-purpose models some of which can drive as far as 570 kilometres in a single range.
However, the battery potential of Honda is about half of the Tesla Model 3, which means it would just drive 280 kilometres per charge.
Tomofumi Ichinose, the Chief Engineer of the Honda, said: “most EVs use large capacity batteries, but often much of those capacity goes unused during city driving. We question whether the large vehicles are appropriate for urban use and believe that smaller is a better option for cities.”
It has an ultra-compact design depicting Honda classic N360 and N600 models from the 1960s. It is a two doors car intended as an upmarket city car, and the price range is set around 33,000 euros which are higher than Renault Zoe ZE50.
Ichinose stated Honda engineers prioritized accurate and sharp handling to enable easy u-turns in narrow streets. Side mirror has been replaced with interior displays to avoid bumps and scrapes during parking.
The model will only be sold in Japan and Europe where it goes on sale in late October. Honda expected the year sales of only 10,000 in Europe and 1000 at japan, where it will also introduce the model into its car-sharing fleet. The automaker giant said that they have no plans to market the cars in North America or China; it is the biggest market where SUV’s are preferred.
