Honda Motor confirmed this week it will begin sales of its newly-unveiled "Honda e" in Japan at the end of October, as part of a broader strategy to "electrify" a large part of its model range in the current decade.
The automaker has set a target for hybrid and electric vehicles to account for two-thirds of its global sales by 2030.
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The Honda e, which was unveiled in Europe earlier this month, is a four-seater compact car which the company says has a range of up to 283km under the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Procedure standards – much lower than comparable models such as the Nissan Leaf.
The Honda e features smartphone-operated door locks and engine starter, as well as camera systems mounted on the side mirrorsand automatic parking. The suggested retail price for the entry-level model is JPY4.51m (US$42,550), rising to JPY4.95m (US$46,700) for the full-equipped model. The model qualifies for central and local government zero-emission car subsidies.
Honda has set an annual sales target of around 1,000 units per year in Japan, but expects European sales to reach 10,000 units annually.
In Japan, the Honda e will come up against forthcoming models such as the Nissan Ariya crossover EV from mid-2021 and a small, two-seater EV from Toyota later this year.
