Honda stops the production of the Honda E
- Japanese carmakers waited a long time before deciding to launch battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in particular because in Japan, sales of BEVs remained very low, while the market leader in this country – the group Toyota – which occupies half of the market there – has focused more on selling hybrid vehicles (FHEV) instead of selling BEVs. But Japan, like any other country in the world, must take into consideration the fact that it must reduce its share of CO2 in the global balance and that oil resources will not be eternal.
- Toyota therefore decided late to launch into battery electric and announced a few months ago a program to launch new vehicles equipped with this type of engine. The first model from this new family, the BZ4X SUV, was launched recently, with a slow development.
- Honda had previously launched the E city car (it was in 2020) but without success not only in Japan but also in Europe. In Europe, the Honda E went from 3,748 sales in 2020 to 3,315 in 2021, 2,001 in 2022 and 576 in 2023. In total, less than 10,000 units have found a buyer in four years. In Japan, it's even worse: 427 sales in 2020, 721 in 2021, 371 in 2022 and 260 in 2023. In Europe, its price of 41,000 euros was undoubtedly a break when its main competitor the Mini E is priced at 37 400 euros.
- As a result, Honda is stopping the production of the E city car at the end of the year. Its hopes now are on its E:NY1 SUV, but its sales may being handicapped by a price higher than 47,500 euros.