Honda Malaysia to introduce 3 fully electric models in next 3 years

At the KL International Mobility Show 2024, one of the displays on the Honda stand was the e:N1 EV and the company mentioned that it would be available in 2025. It has now confirmed this and while no details or prices are available yet, Honda Malaysia says that the e:N1 will be launched in 2025 and in the next 3 years, another 2 more EVs will be added to the range.

Although Honda Malaysia has long concentrated on locally assembled models, the e:N1 is unlikely to be assembled at its plant in Melaka. For one thing, the volumes in the initial years would not justify an investment to prepare the factory for EV assembly – special consideration has to be given to worker safety due to the high-voltage systems.

Assembled in Thailand
The e:N1 is already being assembled in Thailand so it can be imported from there. And Honda Malaysia would not have to be too concerned about the expiry of the tax-exemption incentive for EVs at the end of 2025. Under the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) agreement, vehicles produced in Thailand or any ASEAN country can still be imported without import duty though there will still be the excise duty element. They do, however, have to have at least 40% of parts sourced from suppliers in ASEAN.

As for the specs, going by other regional models, we can expect that Malaysia would a similar one as what is sold in the Thai market. The HR-V-sized e:N1 there has a powertrain with an output of 204 ps/310 Nm and with a 68.8 kWh battery, the range is claimed to be up to 412 kms.

No.1 again
Honda Malaysia ended 2024 in the top position of the passenger vehicle segment (excluding pick-up trucks) for the 11th consecutive year with 81,600 units sold, which accounted for 10% of the total industry volume of new vehicle sales.

Sales target for 2025
For 2025, it has set a target of 83,000 units; based on the 780,000 units forecast by the Malaysian Automotive Association for this year, this would give Honda a share of 10.6%. Besides enhancing its product offerings and improving sales and aftersales services, the company will launch 3 new (or facelifted) models during the year. The first one – the updated Civic Sedan – has already been launched in January so there should be two more to come, with one of them being the e:N1.

2017 Honda Jazz Hybrid was first electrified model to win MCOTY