Electric Honda e:Ny1 costs from £44,995 – the same as the Tesla Model Y

The new Electric Honda e:Ny1, Honda’s answer to the Tesla Model Y, goes on sale in October with prices from £44,995.

Honda revealed its first ‘proper’ electric car – the Honda e:Ny1 – a couple of months ago as it moved on from the niche, and expensive, Honda-e, and despite Honda CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, stating recently “Are there really customers [electric cars] who truly want them? I’m not so sure.”

But in the bonkers world in which we live, everything is being turned on its head and ‘demand’ is no longer the driver for car companies, it’s legislation from woke governments forcing car makers to build electric cars buyers really don’t want.

So Honda, despite their reservations about EVs, is moving on from the Honda-e – which won’t be replaced – with a rather generic-looking electric SUV which, as far as buyers are concerned, is pretty much an electric take on the HR-V.

Available in two trim levels – Elegance and Advance – both with the same 201bhp motor at the front, 68.8kWh battery and (official) range of around 250 miles, five years warranty, servicing and roadside assistance.

All models get a 15.1″ infotainment and 10.25″ digital instrument panel, driver aids including Collison Mitigation, Blind Spot and Lane Keep, with Elegance models getting pretend leather, electric driver’s seat, heated front seats, wireless phone charging, keyless, privacy glass and sequential indicators. Prices start at £44,995.

The Advance model (which costs from £47,195) also has a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, posh Sound, hands-free tailgate and Parking Pilot.

The electric Honda e:Ny1 will officially go on sale in October, with the first customer cars due in January 2024.