- Honda is set to enter the growing small EV market in 2026, after unveiling its Super-N Prototype.
- The production model will be sold in Japan, as well as select markets elsewhere in Asia and the United Kingdom.
- The Super-N Prototype is based on Honda’s Kei car platform, which has traditionally not been sold in Europe, but the EV transition marks a new opportunity for Honda to sell lightweight, compact, and affordable cars to a wider and more global customer base.
Meet Honda’s new small EV
So far, the UK will be the only European market to receive this new small EV in addition to Japan and select Asian territories – and that will be partly down to the UK’s similarity of driving on the left, presumably allowing for little changes to be made between Asia and UK-bound Super-Ns. Honda does note that the future success of this model will gauge whether there is a further consumer appetite for small EVs in other European regions.
In a sea of homogenous looking electric SUVs, the Super-N Prototype certainly stands out as looking different than any other EV currently on the market, which could be a unique selling point for this new EV. It joins a growing list of small electric cars achieving design praise, such as the Renault 5 and the Hyundai INSTER.
The fun-to-drive element is another area which Honda is pushing hard with this new prototype. This includes a ‘boost’ mode which grants maximum electric drive power, as well as a simulated gear shifting option with ‘Active Sound Control’ – which sounds similar to the idea brought to production reality with Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N – which is unarguably in a completely different EV segment to this new compact Honda.
The Super-N Prototype can be seen as a spiritual successor to the Honda e, which was sold exclusively in Europe and Japan. This was only produced for less than four years, owing to slow sales, yet it still gained somewhat of a cult following due to its cute design and driving experience. First impressions of the Super-N Prototype’s design seem to fit that bill perfectly as an even more compact successor.
There’s no word on UK pricing or battery range just yet, but considering the EVs currently on the market that it will likely rival, we would expect a price point below the £25,000 mark to stay competitive against EVs such as the Renault 5.
Rebecca Adamson, Head of Automobile at Honda UK, commented:
“The Super-N Prototype promises to offer a great entry point to Honda EV ownership when it arrives in our market next year, building on the excitement we saw for the concept model at Goodwood this summer. By bringing Honda’s trademark ‘fun-to-drive’ performance to a compact all-electric model, we believe this is a unique proposition and we are excited for people to experience it from 2026.”
