New 2022 Honda e:NP1 and e:NS1 electric SUVs revealed with 311-mile ranges

Honda has launched a pair of new electric SUVs for the Chinese market called the e:NP1 and e:NS1, which could form the basis of a new model coming to Europe in 2022. 

The e:NP1 is an electric SUV designed for the Chinese car market, while the e:NS1 variant is a sportier looking variant. They will both go on sale in China in spring 2022 and both are built by different Honda China joint ventures. But the brand has touted that it plans global exports of Chinese made EVs, so a European version of these models could reach showrooms later in the year as a rival for the Hyundai Kona Electric and Peugeot e-2008.

Earlier this year Honda gave us a taste of how its forthcoming electric SUV would look with the SUV e:Concept, and it seems these production models carry forward the concept’s design with added HR-V influence. 

The production-spec cars have gained two extra doors at the rear, but the grille shape, slim headlamps and prominent front bumper lip have all made it into production. Both cars’ silhouettes are almost identical to the concept’s, and the full-width rear light bar is about the same shape, although it’s a little thicker than before. Even the alloy wheels sport the same multi-spoke design, albeit scaled back to a more sensible 18-inch diameter. 

However, despite the similarities between the two cars, these new images suggest that Honda won’t carry the e’s digital side-view cameras onto the SUV – at least not as a standard fixture. There’s a set of conventional door mirrors clearly pictured in the images.

Honda’s official images also reveal some details on the cars’ interiors. Both will feature a digital gauge cluster ahead of the driver and an enormous 15-inch infotainment system mounted in the centre of the dashboard, which contains menus for all of the car’s functions.

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Underneath, the two cars are mechanically identical. Both are based on Honda’s new e:N Architecture F chassis, which is an electric platform designed for compact EVs with front-wheel drive electric powertrains.

Honda has released precious few specifications on the e:NP1 and e:NS1, although the firm has said the SUV will have a maximum range of 500km (311 miles) according to Chinese homologation – suggesting there’s a large battery pack hiding under the car’s floor.

Some specifications for the e:NS1 were leaked on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Technology website. The information needs to be listed with the government department to homologate the car for Chinese roads.

The leak reveals the e:NS1 will be available with either a 180bhp or 201bhp electric motor, and that the top speed of the SUV will be capped at 93mph regardless of the powertrain. The car is also listed as having a 68.8kWh battery pack – but how reliably these specifications will translate to the European version of the car is debatable.

Honda has also released details on the production SUV’s planned range of safety equipment. The finished EV will have a new 360-degree driver assistance system, which the company says will offer “improved recognition, predication and decision-making” skills compared with its current set-up, suggesting this new crossover will offer a higher level of autonomous driving capability than the rest of the firm’s line-up.

Jean-Marc Streng, Honda’s UK boss, recently spoke to Auto Express about the firm’s EV strategy.

“We are going to bring a new model of BEV in 2023 – that’s the next step, which will help us to have a wider offer,” he explained, suggesting that the European version of the new e:N SUV is still some way out. 

Now click here to read our review of Honda’s other new SUV, the third-generation HR-V…