As many automakers invest in sedans and SUVs in the switch to electric vehicles (EV), Japan’s Honda Motor has decided to go for a smaller car as better for its first-ever mass-produced all-battery car.
The Honda e, released in Europe previously this month, is a compact model meant only for city driving. That contrasts with Tesla Inc, whose Model 3 sedan dominates the electric vehicle battery market and others such as Audi AG and Hyundai Motor that has focused on SUVs with long driving ranges.
High battery expenses have kept EVs at the premium end of the car market, and many automakers are making bigger, all-purpose models, some of which can drive as far as 570 kilometres on one charge.
The Honda e, however, has a battery capacity approximately half that of the Model 3, driving just 280 kilometres each charge.
“Most EVs use large capacity batteries, but often, much of that capacity goes unused during city driving,” said Tomofumi Ichinose, the chief engineer of the Honda e, informed reporters previously this week.
“We question whether larger vehicles are appropriate for urban areas, and believe that smaller is a better option for cities.”
With a retro, ultra-compact design evoking Honda’s classic N360 and N600 models from the 1960s, the two-door Honda e is meant to be an upmarket city car, whose price tag of around 33,000 euros ($39,000) is costlier than Renault’s Zoe ZE50, which is roomier and has a longer driving range.
Ichinose said Honda engineers had prioritized accurate and sharp handling to allow easy u-turns in narrow streets. Side mirrors have been replaced with interior displays to prevent bumps and scrapes during parking.
The model will only be sold in Europe and Japan, where it goes on sale in October. Honda expects yearly sales of only about 10,000 in Europe, and 1,000 in Japan, where it will also introduce the model into its car-sharing fleet.
The automaker said it currently has no plans to market the car in North America or China, its biggest markets where SUVs dominate.
