Electric crossovers were shown in concept form at Shanghai last year and are identical but for their lights and bumpers
by Chris Chilton
15 hours ago
The last time we heard anything about Honda’s e:NP2 and e:NS2, the former was taking part in one of those stunts popular in the 1970s where the automaker sees how many people it can cram inside. But now we’ve got some far more serious and meaningful intel thanks to the benevolent folk at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
To refresh your memory, the SUV duo were developed for the Chinese market and are essentially the same car. But they’ll be sold by both Honda’s joint-venture with GAC and by Donfeng, with each division getting its own bespoke styling cues and making its own version.
So Donfeng’s NS2 gets vertically-mounted boomerang-shaped DRLs ahead of each front wheel and a full-width rear light bar plus that falls towards the ground at each side and ‘Honda’ lettering on the trunk panel.
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Related: Honda Storms Shanghai With A Trio Of EV Concepts From The e:N Series
The NP2, on the other hand, has headlights with a horizontally arranged DRLs blades below and a black panel between the two lamp units. The rear lights get a similar treatment and in this case the ‘Honda’ lettering is raised to the black panel between the lamps. One design element common to both versions is the broad horizontal bars on the front and rear lower bumpers that makes them look like hi-tech air conditioning units.
The MIIT filings tell us that both cars ride on the same 2,735 mm (107.7 inches) wheelbase, and measure 1,840 mm (72.4 inches) wide and 1,570 mm (61.8 inches) tall, while just 1 mm (0.04 inches) separates the NS2 from the longer NP2. The spec sheet also reveals that the pair each gets a single motor generating 201 hp (150 kW/204 PS), just as the concepts promised, plus a 68.8 kWh battery.
The sloping rear roofline that features on both models means they’re more crossovers than proper SUVs, and while that rear window angle does give them a sporty look, Honda’s human-trafficking stunt we wrote about last time set out to prove that it could still be practical. Six gymnasts folded themselves inside the NP2’s cargo bay once the rear seat had been folded down.
The fact that the MIIT has published pictures and info means the official launch must be very close and Chinese buyers will be able to get their hands on the crossovers later this year. They’re not likely to make it to America, especially with the current financial penalties place on Chinese-built EVs, but do you think they would sell well in the West?