Honda e scrapped globally

The pint-size morsel of forbidden fruit that is the Honda e will go out of production next month after just four years on sale in overseas markets following slow sales in Europe and Japan.

Honda made the announcement overnight via its Japanese website, but didn’t explicitly detail its decision – only that sales will cease once the remaining production run is accounted for.

“Production of the Honda e will end in January 2024,” the notice reads.

“Honda e will be discontinued once the production run is sold out.”

The news probably won’t resonate much with Australians given the Honda e was never sold here, where its funky retro design would likely have put it on the shopping lists of some young buyers but its high international price tag and short cruising range wouldn’t have made it popular or competitive.

That didn’t stop some independent importers bringing in a few examples of the Honda e for those willing to pay close to $80,000 once it’s on their driveway.

Honda Europe told Automotive News that while the e hadn’t lived up to its forecast annual sales target of 10,000 units, it had still “brought many new customers to the brand with its distinctive design, advanced technology and driving dynamics”.

AN reports that only 3436 units were sold in 2021 and just 2110 in 2022, meaning the would-be Fiat 500e rival attracted less than a third of the buyers Honda had expected in that two-year period.

Automotive News also says Honda’s EV focus has now shifted to the new e:NY1 small SUV, which is both bigger than the e and bests it for range with a claimed figure of up to 412km (versus 222km).

But given Honda Australia told carsales back in March that its first EV was still at least five years away, don’t expect to see the e:NY1 in local showrooms either.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au