The Honda e disappears from the Japanese manufacturer's catalogue in Europe

Through a statement, Honda has just confirmed that it has ended sales of its urban electric model in Europe. The Japanese manufacturer says that its first electric model in this market has helped it attract many new customers, but it gives no data on its sales volume either so far this year or over its entire commercial life.

The truth is that everything points to the reason for its withdrawal from the market being nothing other than a lack of demand, mainly due to its high price compared with other rivals in the same segment.

Although, as we say, Honda has not wanted to give figures on the number of deliveries of this urban electric car, what we do know are the registration figures in the German market, since these are public. Data that can probably serve as a guide for getting an idea of the real level of demand for this model in Europe as a whole.

Sales in Germany are close to those of a limited edition

According to the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA), that is, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, during October only two units of the Honda e were registered across the entire country. While over the course of the whole year the registration figure barely exceeded one hundred, 101 units to be exact. These very low figures, which, taking it for granted that they will not be very different from those recorded in the rest of the European countries, may explain why the Japanese manufacturer has ended its sales in this market.

We must also bear in mind that the production costs of this vehicle are very high, so for its sale to be profitable for the company a minimum level of demand is needed that is not being reached.

It was not easy to justify buying it

In Germany, the Honda e was until now available from 39,900 euros. For that price any buyer was taking home a vehicle 3.63 metres long, with a 35.5 kWh battery pack and a WLTP range of just 220 km. Although they are not comparable and belong to completely different segments, for only two thousand euros more that same buyer had, or has, the option of taking home in Germany the new Model 3 “Highland” from Tesla with a battery pack with twice the capacity and a WLTP range of 513 km. Difficult to opt for the Japanese model after analysing these figures.

The Honda e reached the European market in 2020 and later, two years on, the Japanese manufacturer launched a special limited edition of just 50 units. November 2023 now marks the end of its commercial life. Looking ahead, it is expected that the e:Ny1 SUV will become the manufacturer’s electric alternative in this market.