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Honda E Prototype's official production name is ... the Honda E

Next-gen hybrid Honda Jazz is coming, too

Honda e Prototype
Honda e Prototype / Image Credit: Newspress
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Honda's coming electric city car has a name. Called the Honda Urban EV Concept when unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, then the Honda E Prototype for it's near-production reveal a couple of months ago, it will be known as the Honda E when it goes on sale. The Japanese carmaker says more than 22,000 people have registered interest online in the hot little five-door hatchback. European buyers in select markets will begin taking deliveries this year, with other markets to follow in early 2020.

Honda said the prototype model shown in February was "95% production ready." That will certainly please the crowd expected to pay a premium price for a luxury good. Autocar wrote "a ballpark figure is £35,000" ($45,500) for the Honda E. That will get more than 98 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque from the rear-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels, and about 125 miles of range on the WLTP cycle from a battery expected to come in around 30 kWh.

We're not sure if Autocar's estimated price includes the £3,500 Plug-In Car Grant offered by the UK government. Assuming it doesn't, that would drop the price to £31,500 before destination, or just under $41,000. A Tesla Model 3 in Standard Range Plus trim costs £38,900 in the UK, after subtracting the grant and adding the £850 destination charge, and it returns 329 miles of range on the WLTP cycle.

The Honda E marks a new effort in the carmaker's Electric Vision strategy for Europe. The initiative aims to have all Hondas in Europe get some form of electrified powertrain by 2025. The next-generation Honda Jazz — our Honda Fit — joins that party soon, by adopting the i-MMD dual-motor hybrid powertrain from the European CR-V Hybrid as an option. The new Jazz makes its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.

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