Honda has revealed three of the 10 new battery-electric cars it will launch in China before 2027, with the 2024 Honda e: NP2, e: NS2, e: N SUV Prologue all unwrapped at the Shanghai motor show this week.
All three have been confirmed to go on sale next year in China, joining the production version of the Honda e: N2 sedan that’s already been revealed.
However, don’t hold your breath for a launch Down Under any time soon, following Honda Australia’s recent declaration that it has no plans to introduce EVs here in the “medium term” – that is, for at least five years.
New Honda E: NS2 And E: NP2 EVs Are On The News
The e: NP2 and e: NS2 twins are shown here in near-production prototype form, with a debut in early 2024.
Confusingly, both the e: NP2 and e: NS2 look almost identical, save for their different front-end designs. No details on powertrains have been revealed, but they’re both expected to use the same electric motor and battery.
One key difference is the e: NP2 will be made by GAC Honda, while the e: NS2 will be assembled by Dongfeng Honda.
Meanwhile, the Honda e: N SUV Prologue looks like a battery-electric version of the combustion-powered Honda CR-V mid-size SUV.
That said, the e: N SUV is said to preview two incoming production SUVs based on the carmaker’s latest e: N Architecture. Differing from the current CR-V, the battery-electric version gets squared-off wheel arches, no frontal openings, a sharper snout, a full-width LED light bar, and slimmer LED headlights.
Inside, the new e: N models come with Honda’s latest driver-assist tech, new safety equipment, and an AI-powered Honda Connect 4.0 infotainment. All are said to offer “driving pleasure that enables the driver to enjoy a sense of oneness with the vehicle”.
Despite slow progress in Australia, Honda has committed $A55 billion to developing and releasing 30 pure-electric models globally by 2030.
How E: NS2 and E: NP2 Work In The West?
The last time we heard anything about Honda’s e: NP2 and e: NS2, the former was taking part in one of those stunts popular in the 1970s where the automaker sees how many people it can cram inside. But now we’ve got some far more serious and meaningful intel thanks to the benevolent folk at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
To refresh your memory, the SUV duo was developed for the Chinese market and is essentially the same car. But they’ll be sold by both Honda’s joint venture with GAC and by Dongfeng, with each division getting its own bespoke styling cues and making its own version.
So Donfeng’s NS2 gets vertically-mounted boomerang-shaped DRLs ahead of each front wheel a full-width rear light bar that falls towards the ground at each side and ‘Honda’ lettering on the trunk panel.
The NP2, on the other hand, has headlights with horizontally arranged DRL blades below and a black panel between the two lamp units. The rear lights get a similar treatment and in this case, the ‘Honda’ lettering is raised to the black panel between the lamps.
One design element common to both versions is the broad horizontal bars on the front and rear lower bumpers that make them look like hi-tech air conditioning units.
The MIIT filings tell us that both cars ride on the same 2,735 mm (107.7 inches) wheelbase, and measure 1,840 mm (72.4 inches) wide and 1,570 mm (61.8 inches) tall, while just 1 mm (0.04 inches) separates the NS2 from the longer NP2.
The spec sheet also reveals that the pair each gets a single motor generating 201 hp (150 kW/204 PS), just as the concepts promised, plus a 68.8 kWh battery.
The sloping rear roofline that features on both models means they’re more crossovers than proper SUVs, and while that rear window angle does give them a sporty look, Honda’s human-trafficking stunt we wrote about last time set out to prove that it could still be practical. Six gymnasts folded themselves inside the NP2’s cargo bay once the rear seat had been folded down.
The fact that the MIIT has published pictures and info means the official launch must be very close and Chinese buyers will be able to get their hands on the crossovers later this year. They’re not likely to make it to America, especially with the current financial penalties placed on Chinese-built EVs, but do you think they would sell well in the West?
EVs from Honda
Honda has been slow to enter the all-electric vehicle market, as it has focused on its hybrid vehicles CR-V Hybrid and Accord Hybrid for its electric offerings. It has revealed that it will launch production of its new Prologue all-electric SUV in early 2024, and its affiliate Acura is teaming with General Motors (GM) to deliver the Acura ZDX, which will use GM’s Ultium battery platform.
Honda said on April 26 that it plans to retool three of its manufacturing plants in Marysville, East Liberty, and Anna, Ohio, for EV production and in 2025 will deliver its first mid- to large-size electric vehicles in North America, based on its original dedicated EV platform.
The three Ohio plants will become Honda’s EV production hub for North America, as it plans to produce 2 million EVs annually by 2030 and increase its EV and fuel cell EV production to 100% globally by 2040, the company said at the briefing.
In early 2024, Honda will deliver its e: NS2 and e: NP2 EVs in China and by the end of 2024, it will deliver in China models based on its e: N SUV xù concept model that was unveiled in April at Auto Shanghai.
What’s your thought in this? Stay tuned for more!
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