Honda's first modern electric car for the mass market, the retro-styled Honda e, ended production in January 2024. Launched in Europe in September 2020 and Japan in October 2020, it sold 11,987 units worldwide in about three years — against an initial plan of 10,000 a year in Europe alone. Honda stopped taking orders and let inventory sell out, closing the book on the car that was meant to introduce the brand to the EV era.
The numbers explain the decision. The e was priced near $40,000 in major markets and delivered real-world range in the ballpark of 100 miles, while rivals offered longer ranges for less money as the European EV market intensified. Car and Driver noted the high price and low range made it a tough sell; Asahi Shimbun reported sales slowed against cheaper EVs with longer cruising ranges.
Honda's own executives acknowledged the e was built as a technology showcase rather than a volume product — some inside the company said it was developed to satisfy European environmental regulations and was never meant to sell large numbers. Honda said knowledge from the e would feed its future EV development as it committed to shifting all new car sales to EVs and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040.
Honda built it as a compliance and image car, not a volume product, so the low sales were the expected cost of showcasing technology for future EVs.
The e was priced near $40,000 with real-world range around 100 miles — the two numbers that matter most in an EV were both wrong for the market
It was designed as a compliance and image car, not a product built to compete, so volume targets were never realistic
By the time it launched, cheaper EVs with longer range had already defined the category the e was trying to enter
An EV lives or dies on price and range. Honda built an adorable compliance car — premium price, city-car range — and it sold 11,987 times in three years.
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