Honda Offers Cooler Limited Edition Version of Cool, Limited Electric City Car

Energy
Thursday, July 7th, 2022 12:16 pm EDT

It was clear from the beginning: The Honda e (that’s the name) is a super cool, cute, fun little electric car … that will never see a large number of sales. Now, Honda is offering an even cooler, even more limited-production version of the Honda e — the Honda e Limited Edition. I guess when you shine in your niche, go more niche and shine some more!

The Honda e is actually the first Japanese vehicle to win the “German Car of the Year” award — that is, the award for the best vehicle on the German auto market (not the best German car on the market, which would make it impossible for the Honda e to win the award.) The thing is, due to limited range and size combined with not a particularly low price, the Honda e has struggled to find buyers. It’s great to be cool. But you have to be a combo of cool, useful, and affordable to find your way into a lot of people’s garages. Steve Hanley explained it in late 2020:

“Everyone admits the Honda e is a stunning car, an engineering tour de force from Team Honda. What, then, explains its lackluster sales? Range. The similarly priced Renault Zoe can go about 100 miles further on a single battery charge than the Honda e. That is not a trifling difference, it’s a deal breaker for many folks. There are plenty of manufacturers who are focused on building cheap city cars for drivers who only drive a few miles a day. The Honda e either needs to cost less money — make that a lot less money — or it needs more range — make that a lot more range. A larger battery is supposedly in the works.”

With a range of 220 km (137 miles), you just aren’t going to cut it on today’s electric car market. And that’s its WLTP range rating! Real-world range will often be even lower. Honda sold slightly more than 4,000 Honda e electric cars in 2020, and then just 3,752 in 2021. Even in Italy, which loves little electric cars, the Honda e doesn’t get many sales.

Honda spins it differently. “Following the overwhelming success of its award-winning all-electric urban EV, Honda has unveiled a new Honda e Limited Edition, offering unique exterior styling for enhanced stand-out individuality.” I think the new Honda e Limited Edition looks really cool and is a fun electric car I’d love to have in my garage (if I had room for more than one car), but I presume the real reason for its release is to try to charge a premium for a somewhat modified Honda e in order to get a little more of its money back on the low-volume electric model. Color me skeptical.

Am I encouraging you to not buy the Honda e Limited Edition? Definitely not! If 130 miles of range for £38,120 works for you, go have some fun!

Also, note that only 50 units are being sold across Europe, so you better move fast if you want to be one of the 50 owners.

“Since being launched in Europe and Japan in 2020, the Honda e has received critical acclaim worldwide, applauded for its innovative design and progressive technology,” Honda adds. “It has won numerous awards, including World Urban Car of The Year and the Red Dot Design Awards.” Now is your chance to own an even more exclusive version of this niche electric car.

“Just before his victory at the FORMULA 1 ROLEX GRAN PREMIO DEL MADE IN ITALY E DELL’EMILIA-ROMAGNA 2022, Max Verstappen drove a Honda e Limited Edition in nearby Dozza, which is internationally renowned for its eclectic street art. The reigning World Drivers’ Champion was impressed with the Honda e Limited Edition’s electric performance and eye-catching style as he maneuvered through the tight and twisty streets of the medieval village.” Of course he was.

“The Honda e Limited Edition is simply lovely,” said Verstappen. “It has funky looks, a compact design and is fun to drive. It’s a great electric urban vehicle.”

Is he buying a Honda e Limited Edition? One would like to know.

If you want to buy the Honda e Limited Edition, note that it is now on sale in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

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