Honda has swept attention away from its German rivals during their hometown car show with an all-new electric vehicle, the Urban EV Concept.
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show by Honda President and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, the Urban EV Concept is a mix of the Honda’s latest technology packaged in an old school design.
However, the best news Hachigo delivered about Honda’s latest concept is the confirmation a production version will follow before 2020.
“This is not some vision of the distant future,” said Hachigo during the Urban EV Concept launch.
“A production version of this car will be here in Europe in 2019,” he added, confirming that the concept is set to be launched within two years.
Built on a completely new platform with retro body styling, the Urban Concept is a true supermini, measuring in 100mm shorter than the current Honda Jazz.
Its low and wide proportions give the car hatchback a planted, muscular stance – though Honda did not disclose any details about how much punch the little concept packs.
One thing they did reveal is that the Urban EV Concept does feature Honda’s Power Manager Concept, a system designed to ‘store energy more efficiently, releasing electricity generated by renewable sources back into the home or selling it back to the grid.’
Inside the cabin the Urban EV Concept is the return of bench seats in the front and rear row. A large wrap-around infotainment screen on the dashboard displays all the necessary information.
Like the Smart we previewed two week ago, the screen can also be used by to write out messages for other drivers via a display on the front and rear of the car.
Detail about the Urban EV Concept are thin at the moment, but with production less than three years away expect to hear more in the near future.
Honda commit to fully-electrified European model range
During the Urban EV concept launch, Honda President and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, also anounced that Honda's cars will feature some form of electrified technology in every new model launched in Europe.
At a global level, Honda aims to have electrified technology in two thirds of its new car sales by 2030. In Europe, the target year is 2025, as interest is particularly strong.
“Here in Europe, we see this move towards electrification gathering pace at an even higher rate than elsewhere,” said Hachigo, adding that Europe was therefore particularly appropriate for the global premiere of the “next step” in Honda’s ‘Electric Vision’ strategy.
The first new model to be electrified is a CR-V SUV Hybrid which goes on sale in Europe next year.
