Electric Envy: Will America Ever Get the Honda e?
Honda has been one of the more eco-friendly major automakers over the past few years, as the company catalog currently features many fuel-efficient cars. However, Honda understands that the future is electric, and therefore has been increasing its focus on making EVs. With that being said, despite the Honda e being available elsewhere, it remains to be seen if the U.S. will ever get a chance at driving this Honda EV.
Honda’s push to electrify its lineup
Like many other automakers, Honda aims to stop producing conventional cars and instead switch fully to EVs. Currently, Honda’s goal is to go 100% EVs by 2040. This actually isn’t that ambitious of a goal, as other automakers are slightly more ambitious. For example, GM plans to stop producing conventional gas-powered cars by 2035.
Honda’s goal is ambitious in one way, however. Honda currently doesn’t have many EVs in its lineup, and as such, Honda will need to expand its EV lineup over the next few years aggressively. That’s what Honda is planning to do, and indeed, Honda’s latest production EV, the Honda e, debuted in Europe in 2020. However, despite getting great reviews, there’s little hope that Honda will ever bring the Honda e to the U.S.
The Honda e is a car that Americans will have to envy
Off the bat, as MotorTrend wrote, the Honda e is an EV that’s simply great for the city. Its numbers aren’t that competitive with other similarly-sized EVs, but that’s not too relevant. For example, the Honda e’s 35.5 kWh battery gets about 137 miles of range, and that isn’t much range, especially compared to a Tesla. Furthermore, the Honda e’s 134-hp electric motor isn’t going to make it a sports car by any means. Plus, the EV starts at about $38,000, so while it’s attainable, it won’t be cheap.
However, despite its lack of power and high starting price, the Honda e is still a great car for city driving. Not only does it drive well and look stylish, but it also has a very comfortable ride. The interior of the Honda e is also unique and well designed. In fact, MotorTrend wrote that the model’s interior has a “distinctly Scandinavian vibe.”
Additionally, the Honda e is equipped with a lot of screens. There’s an 8.8-inch screen for the driver and two 12.3-inch touch screens on the dash. So, while the Honda e doesn’t have the most range of all EVs, it has a lot of “charm and character.” Unfortunately, that won’t be enough to get the car to America.
Why the Honda e isn’t coming to America anytime soon
As Car and Driver wrote, it’s actually kind of simple. When considering the EV market, Honda thinks that Americans are looking at things like range and price. When it comes to those metrics, the Honda e indeed falls short of other EV options. Americans may also not want to buy the Honda e because of its size, as the model is definitely a smaller car for the American automotive market.
Therefore, Honda made the somewhat logical decision not to sell this EV in the U.S., as Honda thinks few Americans would buy one. Since the Honda e is Honda’s only production EV right now, that means American Honda fans are out of luck for now. That said, Honda fans in the U.S. will have a chance to buy a Honda EV soon enough. That’s because Honda plans to produce two new EVs in 2024.
Not much is known about those future Honda EVs, but one of them, the Prologue, will definitely be an SUV. This makes a lot of sense since SUVs are far more popular than sedans are in the U.S.
RELATED: The Honda Prologue EV SUV is Coming in 2024
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