Despite having only one electric car, Honda’s CEO assures that they are not behind

Market trends are just that, trends, but we should not confuse them with strategies or forecasts. Today’s sales were planned five years ago. The new launches that hit the market require years of preparation. The current trend is marked by the electric car. However, not all manufacturers in the world show the same willingness or the same commercial offer. The Japanese prove to be the most lagging manufacturers, but not in the eyes of their managers. Honda CEO Toshiro Mibe does not believe that his company is behind in electrical mattersalthough it only sells one electric car.

In fact, Honda has not had much success when it comes to talking about electrified sales. The company’s first electric car, the Honda e, attracted a lot of attention, but its sales are far from meeting expectations. Could it be a car ahead of its time? Who knows. What is certain is that it has barely had an impact on the market. Honda has removed it from dealerships much earlier than expected and has replaced it with another car that is not having a great impact in terms of sales either. We are referring to the Honda e:Ny1. Leaving aside its particular name, it is not a bad electric car. At least in the engineering part.

For Honda, the electric moment has not yet arrived

The e:Ny1 stands out for its efficiency and good performance. It’s comfortable, nice to drive and well finished, but the price doesn’t make any sense. Honda asks for a minimum of 48,100 euros for a car that barely reaches 4.4 meters long. It is a lot of money for a B-segment model, no matter how good it is from the engineering section. Without a doubt this is being the big factor hindering sales of the e:Ny1, although Honda is more confident in its products for the future. At least that is what its own executive director recognizes in an interview with Coach.

The Japanese have always been strong advocates of launching the right products at the right time and for them the era of the widespread electric car has not arrived. This way of thinking is not exclusive to Honda, but also to other brands such as Toyota or Mazda.. “We have been working on the technology for a long time, but we believe that it was not good to increase the number of units when the market was not profitable and there was no infrastructure such as charging stations.” The Japanese do not believe that the electric car is a reality for everyone at this time. However, we must not confuse technological vanguard with brand positioning.

Honda may be very advanced in technical matters, but the delay in the launch of electric cars will make them lose positions in terms of image and product. More brands will arrive before it and that will mean that customers will take longer to associate Honda with an electric car brand. That is the great fear. The market is changing rapidly and many brands offer a greater electrical sales catalog. In the same interview, Katsushi Inoue, director of Honda’s Electrification Business Development Unit, said: “Rather than creating something completely new, we believe that our core strength in automotive can also be leveraged to produce electric vehicles.”