The Honda EV Concept vehicles are a series of two

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...

electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...

s created by the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

division of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

, designed with cues to historical Honda products. The Urban EV Concept made its debut at the 2017 International Motor Show Germany in September 2017, while the Sports EV Concept debuted at the

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by ...

a month later.

Common features

The front and rear ends feature screens that display messages to other motorists or the battery status. Other common styling details include the shape and configuration of the headlights, taillights, and front grille; matte black rub strips on the sides; and the blacked-out A pillars. The "Honda Automated Network Assistant" is a Honda-created artificial intelligence system that, according to Honda, "learns from the driver by detecting emotions behind their judgments."

Urban EV

Honda e Prototype, GIMS 2019, Le Grand-Saconnex (GIMS0895)

Built on a new platform, the Urban EV Concept's exterior design is an homage to the first generation Honda Civic and is about the same length as the

Honda Fit The Honda Fit (Japanese: ホンダ・フィット, Hepburn: ''Honda Fitto'') or Honda Jazz is a small car manufactured and marketed by Honda since 2001 and now in its fourth generation. It has a five-door hatchback body style and is considered ...

. The car features rear-hinged

suicide door A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are perceived as being less safe than a fron ...

s. Yuki Terai is credited with the exterior design.

"We have come up with this cute-looking front, as well as simple and soft plane designs. Cars are becoming more high-tech, but they become friendlier to people," "We want to make these cars simple and easy to understand." Jun Goto, Sports EV Concept designer

The interior fits four adults, with the front passengers seated on a single bench seat. The dashboard is decorated in wood trim with a long digital screen as the instrument and infotainment panel. On the upper door panels are additional screens that display feeds from the side-view cameras. Fumihiro Yaguchi was the interior designer.

Production version

The production version of the Urban EV Concept is released in Europe later in 2019, and then was later released in Japan in 2020. The target market for the Urban EV Concept is as a short-range commuter. Because of its target as an urban commuting vehicle, a release in the United States is quite unlikely. In February 2019, a pre-production prototype was unveiled, with the production version shown during the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

and in May Honda announced the production vehicle to be named

Honda e The Honda e is a battery electric supermini manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda, available in the European and Japanese markets in 2020. It is based on the Urban EV Concept presented at the 2017 International Motor Show Germany in Septembe ...

. Production and sales has started in late 2019.

Sports EV

According to Honda, the Sports EV Concept "combine EV performance and artificial intelligence inside a compact body with the aim to realize the joy of driving with a sense of unity with the car." Its exterior is inspired by the

Honda S600 The Honda S600 is an automobile manufactured by Honda. It was launched in March 1964. Available as a Roadster (automobile), roadster – bearing strong resemblance to the Honda S500 – and as a fastback coupé – introduced in March 1965 – the ...

. It shares the front and rear lights, as well as the dash, with the Urban EV. It features two seats and is meant to "embod the 'beautility' of a sporty car." Due to the short six-month development schedule, the interior of the Sports EV shown at TMS 2017 was not finished. Makoto Harada was the project leader and exterior designer of the concept.

Awards

Automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

'' magazine awarded both cars with the 2018 Concept of the Year. 2018 Car Design Award ‘''The Best Concept Car''’

References

External links

* (Urban EV) * (Sports EV) {{Honda Urban EV Concept Electric concept cars