A source inside Honda confirmed that we’ll see Honda Urban EV’s roaming the streets in 2020.
It’ll be close to two years since Honda unveiled the Honda Urban EV concept and Sports EV concept at the Frankfurt motor show but according to a source within Honda via VTEC.net earlier this weekend (Jan. 11, 2019) Honda is delaying production of the Honda Urban EV and subsequently the Sports EV by six months with an official production model debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year in mid- September.
According to Honda Insider, “RolledANSX”,
Honda will debut a prototype Urban EV at Geneva with the production model at Frankfurt in September. On sale date in 2020. Project is delayed about six months.
Also Honda is still not 100 percent behind BEV(only doing them to meet GOV rules). They only plan on selling 5000 a year.
Honda is more behind FCEV and HEV.
The Urban EV Concept will be Honda’s first mass-produced battery electric vehicle sold in Europe. With seating for four, simple exterior and interior design, and presumably around 200 miles of range according to estimates, this will be Honda’s most complete BEV package since the Honda EV Plus, one of Honda’s first battery electric vehicles available for lease between 1997-1999. Since then, Honda, and in many ways Toyota, has doubled down on Fuel cell vehicles powered by Hydrogen with the Honda Clarity Electric and all its 80 miles of range the only electric vehicle offering from Honda in the United States.
Honda planned to open order books for the Urban EV concept for the European market in 2019 and in Japan the following year but that timeline now has shifted.
Honda is cautious in its approach to battery electric vehicles and, in my opinion, wants to get it right the first time, which is a tall order for any car manufacturer. Insider RollewdaNSX does give a brief explanation for the delay.
Materials supply and cost for battery
Battery tech just not ready
Not cleaner than ICE in the big picture
Grid
More or less Americans have embraced electric cars in the United States despite the infrastructure largely dominated by Tesla Superchargers. The European market will be a testbed to see just how ready new EV buyers take to a Honda offering.
It looks like everyone will have to wait a tad longer to see this Honda experiment play out.
Source: VTEC.Net
