End of the road for Honda e:Ny1 as brand pivots to new super-affordable Super-N
Honda is ending sales of its e:Ny1, leaving the Japanese brand with no all-electric models in the UK.
The family SUV has struggled to find an audience in the UK and as it reaches the end of its lifecycle, the brand has quietly removed it from its online configurator.
A Honda spokesperson told EV Powered that the brand would no longer take new orders for the e:Ny1 after remaining stock was sold. They added that supply of in-stock models was “very limited”, which was why the car had been pulled from its retail website.
The e:Ny1 was criticised at launch for its high asking price and mediocre technical specifications. Honda adjusted the price downwards several times in an effort to reposition its Renault Scenic and Ford Explorer rival, but failed to secure a foothold in the massively competitive segment.
The move leaves Honda with no pure-electric models on sale as it faces the prospect of rising ZEV Mandate targets.
However, the brand will relaunch its EV efforts this summer with the completely different Super-N.
Unlike the e:Ny1 and previous Honda e, the Super-N, pictured below, is firmly targeting the affordable end of the market. The tiny boxy hatchback will cost less than £20,000 when it arrives this July.
Based on the Japanese market N-One e, the Super-N uses a 64bhp motor that can be boosted to 95bhp in short bursts. It also gets a simulated seven-speed transmission and synthesised sound and a chassis set up to deliver an “entertaining” driving experience.
Also unlike the e:Ny1, the Super-N will be getting out ahead of rivals, reaching the UK before cars like the Renault Twingo, VW ID.1 and Kia EV1, which could give Honda a competitive edge in the growing cheaper end of the EV market.
The effective death of the e:Ny1 comes amid troubled times for Honda’s EV strategy. Earlier this year it abandoned the Series 0 project just months ahead of its launch. That also ended the US-only Afeela programme being developed with Sony as part of a $15.7 billion writedown of its electric vehicle business.
