Honda Motor will begin selling a micro-sized electric van aimed at Japan’s delivery company in October, the Japanese manufacturer announced on Thursday, entering an increasingly competitive market.
The company released a statement stating that the small electric commercial vehicle will have a cruising range of 245 km (152 miles). It will be classed as a “kei,” or domestic car with low power and low taxes.
The new model’s launch comes as Japan’s second-largest manufacturer by volume wants to begin selling an electric kei passenger vehicle next year.
Within the huge Japanese market for kei micro-sized automobiles, Honda is a dominant player. Its N-Box model has been the best-selling kei passenger car in Japan for a long time. Because of their low cost, micro kei vehicles are quite popular in Japan among households and companies for delivering packages, agricultural products and other goods in both rural and urban regions.
Toyota Motor has postponed the debut of a small electric vehicle developed with Suzuki Motor and Daihatsu for months due to a safety test controversy at Daihatsu.
