Honda tries again with Super-ONE Prototype for compact EV

Honda’s earlier global compact EV model – the Honda e – looked promising when it was launched in Europe in late 2020. However, conceived as a city car, it had limited range and the interior was not appreciated by the European market. Its high price didn’t help either. After 39 months, with only around 12,500 units sold globally, Honda discontinued the model.

But failure was never something that Sochiro Honda viewed as being useful to inspire innovation. He once said: “Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure.” He took on the challenge of coming up with a better product, and only saw failure if the challenge was avoided.

So with the Honda e not having found acceptance, Honda developed a new and different type of model which it has presented as a concept model at the Japan Mobility Show this week. This is the Super-ONE Prototype, a new compact EV model which will go on sale in selected global markets next year.

N Series platform
The Super-ONE prototype is built on the lightest platform of the highly popular N Series ‘kei’ car range sold in Japan. It was actually displayed as the Super EV Concept at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year though, at that time, Honda did not talk too much about it.

The EV’s bold and muscular exterior design is typified by its distinctive wide stance, blister bumpers, and eye-catching aero ducts. Inside, the sporty image continues with blue-accented asymmetrical seats and a clean, horizontal instrument panel.

BOOST mode
With its name promising sporty performance, the Super-ONE Prototype has a performance-enhancing feature called the BOOST mode. Developed exclusively for this model, BOOST mode increases the power output to enable the power unit to achieve its performance potential. At the same time, it synchronizes the simulated 7-speed transmission and the Active Sound Control system to generate powerful engine sound and sharp gearshift feel, as if driving an engine-powered vehicle with a traditional multi-gear transmission.

The Super-ONE Prototype has undergone extensive testing on various road surfaces and under diverse climate conditions in Japan, the UK, and other countries across Asia. As the Super EV Concept, its performance was shown in the dynamic run on the iconic hillclimb course at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2025.

While Honda has selected markets that will get this new EV, it is unlikely that Malaysia will be included. Apart from the price likely to be high for a compact EV and difficult to compete against the small Chinese EVs, Honda Malaysia has also adhered to its approach of localisation of its products. It has made occasional exceptions for models like the Civic Type R and the e:N1 EV but these are not expected to sell in meaningful numbers.

Honda began its electrification journey in the 1980s