Although He was never a Honda owner, he had many friends who drove Honda cars around him, which was enough to make Brother Reed have a deep understanding of the brand's models. Coupled with the characteristics of the work, you can try different styles of Honda models, and Honda can be described as the "most familiar stranger" for the brother. But this "familiarity" only stays in the fuel vehicle model, and has never experienced the Honda model in the era of electrification.
So when I saw the key to the Honda e:NS1 test drive, "three words" came to my mind – I want to try. These three words contain curiosity and anticipation, what a Honda would be like without engine roar and VTEC explosion.
Excellent driving control is still the advantage of the model
Perhaps it is too much to be "educated" by its own brand models, we are accustomed to measuring the quality of a pure electric vehicle, first of all, from the endurance, architecture platform, price, configuration to judge, but in fact, put aside these factors, and then look at a pure electric vehicle, it will be more objective.
In terms of appearance, the Honda e:NS1 can give enough visual sense of superiority, and the avant-garde shape can easily distinguish it from the Honda model of the fuel car era. But when the door handle is pulled open, the unique thinness of Japanese cars is familiar. The central control vertical screen in the car looks a little cheap from the picture, but in fact, the resolution is quite delicate, the functional partition is clear and reasonable, and it does not feel abrupt and price-dropping. All the functions in the car are quite easy to get started, and there will be no deliberate manipulation of some showy things because it is a pure electric model, creating a sense of estrangement from the driver.
The reason why Honda's models are bloody is because they can create a strong desire to drive, and honda e:NS1 is no exception. The adjustment of the power pedal can feel that it took a lot of thought, the normal opening and closing angle, the vehicle driving smoothly and naturally, and under the deep pedal, you can get the pleasure of "VTEC outbreak", without any discomfort and panic during the period. The adjustment of the chassis is also quite compact and solid, even if it is an SUV, the handling is also full of confidence. It's no exaggeration to say that even if you just change hands from a European car known for its handling, you won't feel a noticeable sense of difference.
Putting aside the parameter data, subjectively looking at honda e:NS1, it does have a lot of surprises, but the time for consumers to understand an unfamiliar model is short. In the pure electric vehicle market that values the "high score" parameter, is honda e: NS1, which is not outstanding in "score", really needed by the market?
In the pure electric blue ocean, Honda broke through
The Honda e:NS1 is equipped with a drive motor with a maximum power of 150 kW and a peak torque of 310 N·m, and a pure electric cruising range of up to 510 km. Such power figures are on par with the BYD dollar PLUS, which costs less than 170,000 yuan at the top, while the Honda e:NS1 starts at 175,000 yuan. Obviously, whether it is parameters or cost performance, Honda e:NS1 can not compete with most of the independent brand models, but this does not prevent it from becoming a dark horse in the market.
Looking at the domestic pure electric vehicle sales list in 2021, a polarization phenomenon has been formed, and the low-end market below 100,000 yuan and the high-end field of more than 250,000 yuan have become the leading part of electric vehicle sales, while the mainstream market segment in the range of 150,000-250,000 yuan has not yet opened the situation.
Low-end market users only need the most basic functions, the price is close to the people, and commuting is enough; users in the mid-to-high-end market pay more attention to freshness and high-end. The consumer demand in the mainstream market is relatively rich, safety, intelligence, reliability, good looking, driving pleasure, etc. want to take it all, but there are very few models in the market that can meet these needs in an all-round way, which means that this is a blue ocean market that has yet to be tapped, and Honda e: NS1 is hoping to cut into this market. From this point of view, we have a good understanding of the pricing intention of the Honda e:NS1.
e: Can NS1 be a strong market segment?
Fast acceleration is the innate characteristic of pure electric vehicles, even if the motor power is very weak models, it can also give a certain acceleration pleasure in the initial stage, so it will create an illusion of "fast acceleration = driving pleasure", which is not the case. Many people in pure electric vehicles will have the discomfort of motion sickness or even vomiting, that is because some models only emphasize the importance of power data, and ignore the adjustment of models.
Based on the "e:N Architecture" architecture, the Honda e:NS1 ensures performance while taking into account the flexibility of control, which is the driving control "surprise" mentioned at the beginning of the article. If the self-owned brand models pursue the adrenaline promotion of "one force and ten will" in the creation of pure electric vehicles, then Honda e: NS1 knows how to bring excellent driving pleasure with ingenuity.
At present, at the price of 150,000-200,000 yuan, few independent brand models can make a deep impression on the driving control, it seems that they pay more attention to the parameter data, cost performance, configuration level, and ignore the fun brought by the driving control. This is the accumulation that the self-owned brand models lack, which gives Honda e:NS1 a good chance to break through. Of course, in addition to the advantages of handling, Honda e:NS1 also has considerable advantages in brand tonality, product retention rate, and quality, which is also valued by many consumers.
Compared with the pure electric vehicle models of the same level of joint venture brand, what are the advantages of Honda e: NS1? To a certain extent, honda e:NS1 is a "forerunner" in the market segment, and the joint venture pure electric small SUV market has no shortage of Audi Q2L e-tron, Toyota C-HR EV, Mazda CX-30 EV and other players. However, due to the long launch time of these models, the product strength and freshness are relatively inferior, coupled with the identity of "oil to electricity", it will not pose too much of a competitive threat to Honda e:NS1.
Honda's biggest competitor at e:NS1, in addition to the "same door" e:NP1, also has the recently launched Smart Genie #1. The two models have the same positioning, similar prices, similar user groups, and more importantly, Smart Genie #1 has the endorsement of Mercedes-Benz and Geely, as well as a unique brand tone blessing, which is quite a competitive threat to Honda e:NS1.
Honda will restructure its voice in the field of pure electric power
With the rapid advancement of electrification, it is not difficult to find that the traditional car giants, which have always been criticized as too conservative, are accelerating their pace to catch up with the increasingly surging tide of electrification. The e:N series is an important point of Honda's era of electrification, and the e:NS1 is the iconic beginning of the series, from which Honda's electrification map officially began.
Honda plans to launch 30 pure electric vehicles worldwide by 2030, with an annual production of more than 2 million vehicles. Among them, the Chinese market will launch 10 pure electric models by 2027, and the Honda e:NS1 is the first model of the program. In order to promote the development of electrification faster, Honda will also create a new pure electric vehicle model with GM". At the same time, we will establish a new electric vehicle production plant in China, and continue to strengthen the research and development capabilities of network connection and intelligence.
It can be seen that Honda, as a giant of traditional car companies, is trying to reconstruct the brand's right to speak in the field of pure electric vehicles.
Honda's pure electric model without engine roar and VTEC explosion is still fascinating, and the unique spirit and attraction of the brand have not been lost, which can be described as an innovation in persistence.
The joint venture brand represented by Honda is actively accelerating its transformation in the face of the huge Chinese market, embracing electrification, and realizing the transformation of elephants. Chinese brand car companies in the electrification development competition to win the market and first-mover advantage, but such advantages are not eternal, it is foreseeable that with the rise and entry of joint venture brands, the domestic electrification market will enter a new era of competition, Chinese brands can stand on the same running line with joint venture brands to compete, and the process of this racing race is far more worth looking forward to than the result.