Honda E Officially Revealed With New Platform and 35.5 kWh Battery

author: Manish Kharinta   

The electric Honda E

Honda has released the first official images of its new electric vehicle platform. The automaker announced that the new EV dubbed the "Honda E" will be its first ever electric car to be built on the new dedicated EV architecture.

Honda claims that the Honda E compact EV is partially designed to tackle the urban environment and will offer drivers with responsive driving characteristics.

To achieve a high level of driving dynamics, Honda positioned the battery pack low under the floor of the car, giving the car a low center of gravity. The battery pack has also been position centrally between the wheelbase, offering a 50:50 weight distribution which the automaker claims will help deliver impressive handling.

To make sure that Honda E delivers a precise steering response, Honda designed what it calls "a high torque electric motor" to send power to the rear wheels. Honda claims that its rear-wheel-drive setup will improve the steering characteristics at high speeds.

To reduce the vehicle's overall weight, the suspension components are mostly made out of lightweight aluminum. The Honda E also gets a four-wheel-independent suspension setup for improved agility.

The aesthetics have been designed to feature short overhangs which further ensure that the EVs design stays true to Honda E's vision of embodying compact dimensions in an efficient manner.

The Honda E has a 35.5 kWh lithium-ion high capacity battery, which can be charged up to 80% in under 30 minutes. The EV can be charged by a type 2 AC connection or a combined charging system (CCS) DC rapid charger.

To maximize cabin space the battery pack of Honda E is liquid cooled, which further helps in maintaining the compact dimensions of the battery pack.

Inside the cabin, we find dual touchscreens which display drivetrain graphic charts, current power flow, level of battery charge, charging, and regeneration status.

The Honda E marks the Japanese car manufacturer's first step in electrifying all of its offerings in the European markets by 2025.

Honda has also announced that its new compact EV will make its debut sometime later this year. The company pushed to build the EV sooner because of-of the immensely positive reaction received by the Honda E concept.

Customers can make priority ordering reservations using Honda's national websites for European markets, which include Germany, Norway, France and the UK.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.