The stylish electric hatchback Honda e, created with an eye on the European market, left it three years after the start of sales. Production of this model in Japan will probably be discontinued in the coming months; the Honda e will not have a successor.
Last summer we already talked about the fact that the Honda e hatchback was unable to achieve any noticeable successes in the market and that it will not have a second generation, and today Electrive magazine, citing a representative of Honda's European headquarters, reported that sales of the Honda e in Europe have been discontinued and will not be resumed. The electric hatchback has already disappeared from European Honda consumer sites (in particular from German ones).
Honda e
Honda e is produced in Japan, but it was developed with the main sales in Europe in mind; the hatchback premiered in the spring of 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show, sales began in 2020. Honda expected to sell at least ten thousand electric hatchbacks a year in Europe and the prerequisites for this were: the Honda e was warmly received by the press and even won the title “Car of the Year in Germany 2021” (previously, Japanese models had not received such an honor), but real sales turned out to be much more modest. In its debut year, the Honda e sold just over four thousand units in Europe, then — less, from January to August of this year, according to JATO Dynamics, only 502 units of the Honda e were sold in Europe (-69% compared to last year).< br />
Honda e
The nostalgic exterior design and expensive-looking interior with a five-screen front panel were the strengths of the Honda e, but the price was too high (in Germany the Japanese hatchback cost from 39,900 euros) and the technical characteristics were too weak. The Honda e battery capacity is only 35.5 kWh, its full charge is enough for a maximum of 222 km of travel on the WLTP cycle, the only electric motor (154 hp, 315 Nm) is located on the rear axle and rotates the rear wheels, up to 100 km /h the hatchback accelerates in 8.3 seconds, the maximum speed is 145 km/h.
Honda e
After the departure of Honda e, there is only one electric car left in the European range of the Japanese brand — the compact electric crossover e:Ny1, launched this year, it costs in Germany from 47,590 euros and is unlikely to be more successful than the discontinued hatchback, since it has the same problem — poor balance between price and technical characteristics.
Honda e:Ny1
Battery capacity 68.8 The kWh of the Honda e:Ny1 is not integrated into the body, but hangs under the belly; because of this, the ground clearance is only 135 mm, even the Honda e has more — 145 mm. On one charge, the crossover can travel 412 km on the WLTP cycle, the maximum charging power is a modest 78 kW. Electric motor with maximum output of 204 hp. and 310 Nm in the Honda e:Ny1 is located on the front axle; there are no all-wheel drive dual-engine versions. In short, again it turned out to be too expensive and with yesterday’s technology, there are many much more affordable and modern alternatives on the market today, including those of Chinese origin.