Honda Super EV makes UK debut as quirky concept takes to Goodwood

The small electric car segment is gradually gaining momentum, and Honda wants to get in on the action with the Super EV concept. 

A small, city-focused electric car that potentially previews a successor to the slow-selling Honda e, the Super EV is based on a kei car in Japan called the N-One – although it’s undergone several modifications to accommodate an electric powertrain.

Honda hasn’t shared details of that yet, although the funky little city car did make its global dynamic debut by driving up the famous hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The design of the Super EV clearly takes inspiration from the pure-petrol N-One, with its upright, blocky proportions. Key changes include a new bonnet, creating space for a fresh front end that in some ways resembles that of 2023’s Honda Sustaina-C concept, with rounded headlights embedded into a blanked-off grille area. There are some cooling and aerodynamics ducts at the front, along with what looks like a charging cap – positioned not too far away from where the Honda e’s bonnet-mounted charging port was located. 

The wheels have been pushed right out into the corners, providing a relatively long wheelbase to give those inside more space. There’s a wider track too, plus chunky, boxed wheelarches. A bespoke roof spoiler, new clear-lense rear lights and ‘Honda’ script have all been added to the rear. 

The company says the Super EV has been “designed as an A-segment compact EV that realises both practical usability and the ‘joy of driving’ only Honda can offer”. It’s claimed to leverage “a sporty and highly responsive driving experience distinctive to compact vehicles,” to provide an “uplifting, heart-pounding driving experience,” says Honda. 

Little is known about the technical capabilities of the Honda Super EV at this stage, but it fits neatly with our scoop from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, when we reported on the firm’s plans to launch a replacement for its now-defunct electric city car, which was removed from sale in 2023. 

At the time, Honda’s Chief Officer of Automobile Operations, Katsushi Inoue, told us the brand was “at the development stage” and that “eventually, in the future, [Honda] will talk about smaller vehicles”.

It turns out that the “future” has arrived, as just half a year on from CES, the company has shown its possible rival to the latest MINI Cooper and Fiat 500e, as well as budget newcomers such as the BYD Dolphin Surf and Citroen e-C3.

Back at CES, Inoue told us that a future Honda sub-£30,000 EV would need to sit outside the brand’s new seven-car 0 Series platform, confirming that the architecture wouldn’t support anything smaller than a Civic-sized family hatchback. “We are thinking about it away from 0 Series,” he said.

Of the seven cars confirmed under the 0 Series plan between now and 2030, the SUV and saloon will reach global markets from next year, with a baby SUV to be revealed in 2026 – at this stage only confirmed for Asian markets, although Europe is a possibility. A larger seven-seat SUV in 2027 is likely to be only for the US market.

Beyond that, a small SUV is expected in 2028, a year ahead of another smaller SUV, plus a compact saloon by the end of the decade. 

Although China and Japan are the target markets for the smallest SUV coming next year, Honda’s BEV General Manager Mitsuru Kariya admitted that he would like to see the baby electric SUV come to European markets as well. 

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