Honda e:N1 finally goes on sale in Thailand – EV HR-V with 204 PS/310 Nm, 412 km WLTP range, RM157k

An update on the status of the Honda e:N1 in Thailand. Having made its debut in the Kingdom last March at the previous Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS), it was then announced that the all-electric SUV was not going to be sold in the market, but would only be available through a leasing programme from 12 car rental providers, with the leasing fee for it starting from 29,000 baht (RM3,800) a month.

Now, exactly a year later, Honda Thailand says that the EV will finally be available for purchase and has formally announced pricing for the model, doing so at the start of this year’s edition of BIMS. In the Kingdom, the model – which is based on the HR-V – will go for 1.199 million baht (RM157,000), and the battery and entire EV drive system will be covered with an eight-year/160,000 km warranty.

General specifications for the vehicle remain unchanged, but it is interesting to note that the latest communication regarding the B-segment offering also mentions that the retail examples in Thailand will be CBU fully-imported units from China, as assembled by Dongfeng Honda Automobile.

Should this be the case, it would be a curious development, given that in December 2023, the automaker had announced local production had begun for the vehicle at its Thai plant at Rojana Industrial Park, Prachinburi, making it the first Japanese BEV to be assembled in the country.

While it has been ascertained that examples under the leasing programme in Thailand are locally-assembled units, it could well be that the automaker has found that it would be more cost effective to go with CBU or it could be that build ability at the Rojana plant isn’t able to meet expected demand for the vehicle on a regional basis – the e:N1 is coming our way later this year, and it is also available through leasing in Indonesia, with the subscription fee being 22 million rupiah (RM5,890) a month over a period of five years.

Otherwise, it’s status quo for kit and features as per its debut last year. The e:N1 is powered by a front-mounted three-in-one electric motor – which integrates the motor, power drive unit and gearbox – producing 204 PS (201 hp or 150 kW) and 310 Nm of torque from 0-4,621 rpm, with drive sent to the front wheels. Performance figures include a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of7.7 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h.

Energy for the e:N1 is stored in a 96-cell 68.8 kWh ternary lithium-ion battery, which offers up to 412 km of WLTP-rated travel (500 km on the NEDC standard). The unit supports DC CCS2 charging at up to 78 kW, where it takes around 45 minutes for the unit to get from a 10% to 80% state-of-charge. Meanwhile, charging at 11 kW AC will take six hours to juice up the pack.

Exterior equipment includes multi-spoke 18-inch two-tone alloys, auto on/off LED headlights with LED DRLs and front fog lamps, front LED sequential turn signals, a smoked LED tail light strip, a rear spoiler and a shark fin antenna.

As for interior kit, the car comes with with black sports-design leather seats adorned with white trim and blue stitching. Elsewhere, the centre console has been redesigned to house a large, vertically-oriented 15.1-inch Advanced Touch Display Audio touchscreen panel with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and a 10.25-inch TFT multi-information display, along with a simple shift knob arrangement and an electronic parking brake switch.

One other change from when it was only available through subscription in Thailand, and that’s an increase in exterior colour choices from one to two with the introduction of Crystal Black Pearl to the palette. When first announced, Premium Sunlight White Pearl was the only colour for the car.

With the e:N1 set to make its way here in the coming future, it finally going on sale in Thailand provides a big hint that the electric SUV will likely go the same route for Malaysia, and now we have an indicative price as well. Will it edge close to or below the RM150k mark when it does? The answer to that, as well as where it will be sourced from, in due course.

GALLERY: Honda e:N1 at the 2024 Bangkok International Motor Show

GALLERY: Honda e:N1 Malaysian preview, 2024 Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS)

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