Honda’s charmingly retro-styled all-electric vehicle will be named “e” when it goes on sale in Europe at the end of the year.
First revealed in prototype guise at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show and then near-production form at the Geneva motor show in March, the Japanese manufacturer has garnered plenty of interest in its next-generation electric car.
It says almost 6,500 UK customers have expressed an interest already.
It’s the first Honda to sit on an all-new vehicle platform, which has been devised for electric vehicles from the ground up.
This opens up new packaging possibilities inside and out, resulting in a flat floor that makes for a larger-than-expected cabin for this segment.
Elsewhere inside, the Honda e gets an impressive digital dashboard that runs the full width of the car, and cameras in place of wing mirrors that feed into the dash.
It is unclear whether these features will make it to production, but expect traditional mirrors and fewer screens in entry-level trims, with the full digital set-up available as an upgrade.
Specific figures are thin on the ground, but Honda says the car’s range will be in excess of 125 miles with a power output about 100bhp, putting it on par with rivals.
Pricing is expected to start in excess of £30,000, which will be at the higher end of the compact EV segment, but this will attempt to be justified by its high specification and quality of materials.
Alongside the announcement of the Honda e name, the firm also revealed that the next-generation Jazz will feature a hybrid powertrain.
The moves come as part of Honda’s commitment to having 100% of its sales electrified by 2025.
