AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)11/17 Report--

On November 17th, Dongfeng Honda e:NS2 mass production version and Guangzhou Auto Honda e:NP2 mass production version were officially launched at the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show. The two models, sister to each other, are based on the exclusive intelligent and efficient pure electric architecture of Honda's pure electric vehicles, "EVU N Architecture F". It is the second model of the Honda EVOR N series and is expected to be available in 2024.

In terms of appearance, Dongfeng Honda e:NS2 and Guangzhou Automobile Honda e:NP2 both adopt sharp blade shape and sharp moving line design, with a sharp and straight waistline extending from the front to the rear and a hatchback design for the rear door. It is worth mentioning that although the two models are sister models to each other, there are obvious differences in appearance and design.

In terms of subdivision, the front face of Dongfeng Honda e:NS2 is designed with through daytime driving lights and rotary dart lights, and the brand LOGO supports lighting. On the side of the body, the rear half of the new car adopts a more sporty slip-back design, coupled with the proportion of the door to the side window, which looks more like a cross-border model. in addition, the new car will also be equipped with hidden door handles, low-resistance rims and so on. In the rear part, the new car taillight design echoes with the headlight group, using the current popular through-type design.

In the interior part, the new car adopts the minimalist design style, and the front row of the intelligent cabin is a penetrating design. The new car is not equipped with the touch shift of the concept car, but uses the traditional button shift mechanism. In addition, the new car is equipped with a large-size HUD, a new "Smart Guide connected Honda CONNECT 4.0" and a safe driving assistance system "Safety Supersense Honda SENSING 360". In terms of power, the new car is equipped with a magnetic synchronous motor, as of press time, the official has not released other power information.

As for the e:NP2 mass production version of Guangzhou Automobile Honda, the appearance of the new car is highly restored to the concept car design, and the overall shape is more science fiction. The front face is equipped with semi-enclosed front grille, equipped with through-type daytime driving lights and C-shaped lights and through-type daytime driving lights. Honda LOGO supports lighting and high recognition. On the side of the body, the new car adopts a large inclination angle slip-back design, highlighting the dynamic styling style of the new car, equipped with hidden door handles and low-resistance rims to further enhance the young sports orientation of the vehicle. In the rear part, the new car also adopts a very sci-fi design style, and the through-type taillight group "unfolds" on the left and right sides to form a C-shaped style, together with the raised rear wheel eyebrows, which not only enhances the sense of science and technology, but also enhances the muscle sense of the vehicle.

In the interior part, the new car adopts minimalist design style, with built-in full LCD instrument and large-size central control screen, equipped with HUD look-up display, and will also be equipped with the brand-new "Smart Guide Interconnection Honda CONNECT 4.0" and safety driving assistance system "Safety Supersense Honda SENSING 360". In terms of power, the new car's power system may be equipped with a 204hp motor, its battery capacity is expected to be 68.8kWh, and its mileage is about 510km.

The auto industry is undergoing a dramatic transition to intelligence and electrification, while Honda is in transition.

In April 2022, Honda launched in China two pure electric models, the e:NP1/e:NS1, which are sister models under the EVR N brand, the former by Dongfeng Honda and the latter by Guangzhou Auto Honda, targeting the small pure electric SUV, but sales of the two models have been sluggish since their launch. In the first October of this year, for example, Dongfeng Honda e:NS1 sold 5880 vehicles and Guangzhou Automobile Honda e:NP1 4415, both of which are a far cry from the current mainstream new energy vehicles.

In order to reverse the decline, Honda China has made a big adjustment to the original "electric transformation plan", bringing forward the time point of "stopping the sale of fuel vehicles" from 2030 to 2027, that is, after 2027, all Honda models launched in China are hybrid and pure electric vehicles, no longer put in new pure fuel models, and Honda China will achieve 100% of pure electric vehicle sales by 2035. According to the joint venture, Guangzhou Auto Honda said on October 26 that it would no longer launch new pure fuel models from 2027, when all Honda models sold in China would be 100% electrified from 2035. Earlier, on July 16, Dongfeng Honda announced that it would launch its new independent pure electric brand in the second half of this year, with more than 50% electrification by 2025, no new fuel cars after 2027, and more than 10 pure electric models by 2030.

In September, Dongfeng Honda launched a new new energy sub-brand, Lingzhi, which is also the first new energy brand launched by a Japanese brand in the Chinese market. The new brand is based on the young design team and adopts the brand-new product LOGO, and its products will be produced based on the new pure electric platform. The product positioning, target users and market pricing are obviously different from those of the e:NS pure electric brand.

In fact, Honda China has made a lot of moves in the field of electric vehicles, as can be seen from Honda China's drastic adjustment of the timetable for suspending the sale of fuel vehicles. Honda China has realized that in order to maintain long-term development in the Chinese market, Honda China needs to accelerate the transition to a new energy market and accelerate the introduction of electrified products, so as to reduce the possibility of falling behind.

The e:NS2/e:NP2 launched this time is the second model of Honda's eVOR N series. As for whether the new car can counterattack and reverse Honda's sluggish sales in the new energy market? Auto Industry concern believes that against the backdrop of the strong rise of domestic new energy and the decline of joint venture car companies, it is not easy for Honda China to turn against the wind. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Federation of passengers, has previously said: "Japanese cars have a deficiency in the pure electric car market, mainly because Japanese car companies are unwilling to change." This also means that Honda China still needs to make more innovations.

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