TOKYO, April 17 (Xinhua Silk Road) -- Japan's Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will launch in Japan on Friday an electric vehicle (EV) produced in China, becoming the first Japanese automaker to sell a China-made EV model in its domestic market, local media reported.
The model, priced at 5.5 million yen (about 34,598 U.S. dollars), is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) under Honda's Insight nameplate. Honda first introduced the Insight in 1999, with production of the third-generation model ending in 2022.
Based on an EV developed by its Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. and manufactured in China, the new Insight has been adapted for the Japanese market, including a right-hand-drive configuration. The vehicle is expected to offer a driving range of up to 535 kilometers per charge, the longest among Honda's EV lineup in Japan.
The introduction of the China-made model will expand options for Japanese consumers in the standard-size EV segment. Honda has so far focused on electric minicars in the domestic market, offering only two EV models in Japan, both of which are minicars. Its first and only standard-size EV, the Honda e, launched in 2020, was discontinued in 2024 due to its limited driving range.
(Contributed by Li Shimeng, edited by Tian Shenyoujia with Xinhua Silk Road, tianshenyoga0524@163.com)
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