Honda has shown its e:N GT Concept in the metal at the China Import Expo. The model had been revealed before as part of a four-EV-onslaught from Honda’s new e:N sub-brand, but this is the first time a physical version of the car has been seen.
With the same dramatic angular design motifs as the rest of the e:N range, the e:N GT separates itself from previous sporting Honda models like the NSX by having four doors and an extremely long wheelbase. Honda’s Chinese division has confirmed the model will hit the market by 2025, but we will see all other e:N production cars before it.
According to Honda China, the GT will “inherit Honda’s genes, and provide users with overwhelming driving performance and an extraordinary driving experience that integrates humans and vehicles” and that it will be based on “Honda’s new pure electric vehicle architecture”.
It remains to be seen what kind of specifications the e:N GT will have, and whether it will be aimed as high in terms of price and performance as the hybrid second-generation NSX was when it launched in 2016 until its discontinuation in right-hand drive markets in 2020.
The smaller e:NS2, a sedan, and the e:NP2, a hatchback, will both launch in production form in early 2024, meanwhile, the e:N SUV will arrive later in 2024. This new sub-brand has its own interior design language and signature light profile in the front.
So far, only the e:NY1, an electric version of the HR-V, has been launched outside China from the e:N family, as part of the brand’s electric line-up in Europe. The brand has so far said the rest of the cars under its e:N sub-brand will be China exclusives as it plans to be 100 per cent electric in the country by 2035 - it will be the first region to go electric-only for Honda.
Meanwhile, Australia will continue to miss out on the brand’s electric offerings, with the Honda E hatch and e:NY1 small SUV being apparently skipped for our market despite right-hand drive availability.
Honda Australia’s local boss, Carolyn McMahon told media in April 2023 that there wouldn’t be electric cars from the brand in Australia in the “mid-term, and we’re talking years” instead standing by the increasing roll out of hybrid variants across its range.
Australia won’t just miss out on China-bound models, but also the Prologue electric mid-sizer which is built in a with General Motors in America. Perhaps our first taste of Honda’s electric range will be the re-booted electric Prelude recently shown at the Japan Mobility Show.
Next for Honda in Australia will be an expansion of its hybrid offering, with new more affordable variants of the CR-V and ZR-V to join the line-up. As it is, only high-spec versions of the HR-V, ZR-V and CR-V are available with hybrid powertrains.
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