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The Honda e:Ny1 – an electric small SUV based on the HR-V – has been confirmed for New Zealand, opening the door for a potential Australian launch.
The 2025 Honda e:Ny1 small SUV has moved one step closer to potentially becoming the brand's first electric vehicle in Australia.
Honda has confirmed the HR-V-based e:Ny1 will arrive in New Zealand in May 2025 after its launch in Europe, China and some South-East Asian countries – including Thailand – in 2023 and 2024.
"Whilst we are excited to see the global developments across Honda in the EV space, we are unable to share any further details of the Prelude and e:Ny1 being introduced into the Australian market at this time," a Honda Australia spokesperson said.
There are similarities in most of the products Honda offers in Australia and New Zealand – the HR-V, ZR-V, CR-V and Civic – along with a non-negotiable, fixed-price agency sales model, though the Jazz hatch is limited to New Zealand while the Accord sedan is only offered in Australia.
Honda Australia vice president Carolyn McMahon has been a director of Honda New Zealand since mid-2024 – the first Honda Australia-based executive to do so – with the dual role said to "strengthen" the connections and work efficiencies between the Australia and New Zealand operations.
"In terms of, when is [a Honda electric vehicle] coming to Australia? I think this time [in 2023] we spoke about our mid-term plan. Some hinted at at 2028. It will be earlier than that,” McMahon said.
"I can't tell you exactly [when] at this point, because we're still firming it up. But in the background, we're working on the car and Honda's movement into introducing a battery electric [vehicle] into the Australian market."
MotoringNZ suggests the e:Ny1 will be sourced from Thailand rather than China where it is built for the United Kingdom – another right-hand-drive market – with a Honda New Zealand executive recently travelling to Thailand to test-drive the model.
The Honda CR-V and Accord are sourced from Thailand for Australia, while the HR-V, ZR-V and Civic are manufactured in Japan.
In Thailand, the Honda e:Ny1 – sold there as the e:N1 – has a 68.8kWh lithium-ion battery and a 150kW/310Nm front electric motor, matching the Chinese-built model sold in Europe and the UK which delivers a 412-kilometre driving range under the WLTP lab-test standard.
Standard equipment includes a 15.1-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, an electronic gear selector, leather-accented upholstery with blue stitching, USB-C charge ports, rear air vents, and a full suite of active safety features.
Measuring 4387mm long, 1790mm wide and 1584mm tall with a 2607mm wheelbase, the e:Ny1 is 32mm longer and 2mm taller than the HR-V hybrid with 3mm less between its front and rear axles.
While the e:Ny1 looks almost identical to the HR-V as most hard points appear to be shared between the two models, Honda claims it is based on its dedicated 'e:N Architecture F' front-motor, front-wheel drive electric-car platform.
It is unclear if the e:Ny1 would be a four-seat or five-seat vehicle should it become available in Australia, as the HR-V is a four-seater due to a unique Australian Design Rule requiring any second-row seat with a seatbelt to have a top-tether anchor point for a child seat, which the small SUV lacks in its middle position.
In the United Kingdom, the price difference between an equivalent HR-V e:HEV hybrid and the e:Ny1 EV is £8500 ($AU16,500), while the e:N1 is not currently offered for public sale in Thailand.
The e:Ny1 – meaning "electric for anyone" – is called e:NP1 and e:NS1 in China, and e:N1 in South-East Asia.
Autocar reports the e:NP1 and e:NS1 will be renamed when the electric car is facelifted as "customers in China just can’t pronounce it", though it could retain the e:Ny1 and e:N1 names in other markets.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
