The microvan will offer the versatility of the ICE-powered Honda N-Van with the advantages of a zero-emission powertrain
by Thanos Pappas
7 hours ago
by Thanos Pappas
Honda is bringing out a fully electric version of the N-Van that will go on sale in Japan in the spring of 2024, with a targeted starting price of ¥1 million ($7,406).
The ICE-powered microvan has been on sale since 2018 but this is the first time we see a fully electric prototype. The EV shares most of its design with the regular Honda N-Van, with the exception of the fully covered grille featuring an unpainted plastic finish. The rest of the 3,395 mm (133.7 inches) long body looks identical, though it does get a set of cute, small-diameter steelies. However, this doesn’t mean there won’t be any visual updates in the finished product.
Read: Honda N-One Style + Urban Special Edition Gets A Faux Wood Dashboard
The EV prototype (above) looks very similar to the regular Honda N-Van (below)
According to Honda, the electric microvan can be used “for both commercial and personal use”. Besides the obvious use for last-mile delivery in cities, owners of the zero-emission N-Van could use it for their daily commute and their short camping trips taking advantage of the versatile cabin. The N-Van is known for the ability of the seats to fold-down flat creating a large cargo space, easily accessible from the sliding door and the lack of a B-pillar on the passenger side. Interestingly, the automaker plans on further refining the usability of the model prior to its market launch.
Honda promises a driving range of 200 km (124 miles), deemed good enough for “daily shopping, commuting to work/school, and hobby use”. We don’t have specifications for the electric powertrain but Honda says it will bless the N-Van with “quietness” and “powerful acceleration suitable for traffic environments with frequent stop-and-go traffic”.
Given that the N-Van is closely related to the N-One and the N-Box kei cars, we wouldn’t be surprised if Honda rolled out electric variants of those models in the near future, featuring the same powertrain.
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We expect Honda to give us more information about the electric N-Van closer to the model’s market launch in Japan which is scheduled for Spring 2024. The automaker is targeting a starting price close to the ¥1 million (equal to around $7,400 at current rates) mark, which is very similar to the cost of petrol-powered kei cars. In comparison, the similarly-sized Nissan Sakura EV that debuted in Japan a few months ago starts from ¥1,78 million ($13k) including subsidies, although this one is more passenger-focused than the Honda N-One.
