Honda Thailand recently revealed that it has begun the production of the Honda e:N1 in its Prachinburi plant. The fully-electric mid-size SUV is not only the first battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) model from the Japanese brand for the market but it is also the first BEV to be assembled in the plant.
Given Thailand’s proximity to our market and the recent push from the Malaysian government to increase the adoption of EVs, some may feel that the e:N1 could end up in Malaysia as well. Before we dive into that, let’s take a quick look at the electric specifications.
Honda e:N1 quick specs
Even though the exterior is similar to the third-generation Honda HR-V, the e:N1 is built using a different architecture designed specifically for EVs called the e:N Architecture F. The SUV is already on sale in China since last year as the e:NS1 and e:NP1 while there is also another version for the European market called the e:Ny1.
Despite already being in production, Honda Thailand did not reveal the specifications of e:N1 though as the rollout will only take place next year. Nevertheless, the UK specs for e:Ny1 stated that the EV is powered by a 68.8kWh battery pack and comes with a 150kW (201hp) electric motor that produces 310Nm of torque.
Other performance figures from the UK specs sheet also include 0 to 100km/h timing of 7.6 seconds alongside a maximum speed of 160km/h. In terms of range, the e:Ny1 can deliver up to 412km according to the WLTP standard.
Charging-wise, the UK model comes standard with an 11kW onboard AC charger which allows the EV to be charged from 10% to 80% in 6 hours. It also supports DC fast charging of up to 78kW which cuts down the 10% to 80% charging time to 45 minutes.
Should we expect Honda e:N1 in Malaysia soon?
Back to the question of whether you can look forward to having a Honda-branded EV officially in Malaysia soon, the possibility seems quite low at the moment.
This is because Honda is not budging away from hybrid technology as far as the Malaysian market is concerned for the time being. The President and COO of Honda Malaysia, Sarly Adle Sarkum said during a media event back in March that the hybrid approach is the right approach for our market at this juncture.
A similar sentiment was then echoed once again during the launch of the sixth-generation CR-V last week. At the event, the Managing Director and CEO of Honda Malaysia, Hironobu Yoshimura said that the company is currently focusing on hybrid as a “more practical solution”.
In addition to that, don’t forget that almost all of Honda Malaysia’s offering right now has a hybrid option except for the Accord. For the newly launched sixth-generation CR-V, the hybrid e:HEV RS variant will be released into the market in early 2024.
With that, we don’t think the e:N1 will be launched in Malaysia. Perhaps, things may change in the future since the company will be announcing a new EV series for the global market at CES 2024 next month but it may take some time before a Honda BEV is officially available in our market.
