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.
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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.
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.
