Honda has revealed a new electric kei car, but this one won’t be exclusive to the Japanese market.
The Honda Super-One, revealed in prototype form at this week’s Tokyo motor show, will be exported to the UK (as the Super-N) and to unspecified Asia-Pacific markets. The rollout of the electric tiddler will begin in 2026.
Honda has yet to officially confirm the electric city car for the Australian market, where it could take on a growing contingent of shrunken EVs including the Fiat 500e, Hyundai Inster, Jeep Avenger, and upcoming BYD Atto 1.
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The Super-One Prototype is the near-production version of the camouflaged Super EV concept seen at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
A replacement of sorts for the Honda e, which Australia missed out on, the Super-One is basically a larger and more powerful version of the new Honda N-One e: – the new all-electric version of the Japanese brand’s top-selling kei car.
Honda has released little in the way of technical details. However, it has promised the Super-One has been developed with an emphasis on driving engagement.
It will offer a Boost Mode that not only increases power output but features simulated gear shifts and a soundtrack reminiscent of a petrol-powered vehicle. Shades of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, then.
A wider stance also delivers a “stable and powerful ride”, according to the Japanese automaker.
It also gives this boxy little city car a sportier look, enhanced with boxy fenders, red brake calipers, and dark-finish alloy wheels.
Functional front and rear air ducts also help aerodynamic performance and cooling.
Inside, there’s eye-catching white and blue on black cloth upholstery draped over chunky sports seats. The “horizontal orientation” of the dashboard is claimed to “reduce visual noise” and opens up the driver’s field of view “to concentrate more on driving”.
Honda hasn’t published any dimensions for the Super-One, but it’s expected to measure well under four metres long.
Kei cars are a category of tiny vehicles popular in the Japanese market due to their affordable prices and running costs, and all must fit within a footprint of 3.4m long, 1.48m wide and 2.0m tall. Combustion-powered kei cars must feature an engine displacing 660cc or under.
While kei-class cars aren’t a thing in Australia – at least if you don’t account for grey imports – we have received various models over the years which have been offered as kei cars in Japan. These include the Suzuki Jimny, Wagon R and Alto, and the Daihatsu Move.