Honda previews future electric cars with new Chinese concepts

Four electric concept cars have been unveiled by Honda at the Shanghai motor show this week, with at least three earmarked for further development – but none will make it to Australia for at least five years, if ever.

Among them, Honda displayed the e:NP2 Prototype and e:NS2 Prototype – both of which the company says will become production cars – as well as the e:N GT Concept, which was first shown in 2021.

The Japanese car-maker also revealed the e:N SUV Prologue, which is also expected to evolve into a production model in the coming years.

Honda hasn't provided any technical details on the three brand-new concepts, and it's not clear whether the e:N SUV Prologue is any relation to to the Honda Prologue – a US-market electric SUV built around an Ultium battery pack sourced from General Motors.

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While the e:NP2 and e:NS2 Prototypes look similar – both being electric SUVs of similar size – Honda says the two vehicles are different in their approach, with the former offering a "sophisticated and smart sense of the future", while the latter offers an "emotional sense of the future".

It's not clear what either of those statements mean exactly, but Honda seems to be targeting the vehicles at different groups of buyers.

Honda's emphasis was naturally on the Chinese market at the event – with the brand aiming to offer only electric cars in China by 2035 – though it hasn't confirmed whether the concepts have been designed with global markets in mind.

Honda Australia has said it does not plan to introduce any electric vehicles for at leat five years.