Are Honda Es selling?

[croyde]

I work near Chiswick Honda who sell cars and bikes and are the Honda UK headquarters.

Round the back there's a pile of pre reg Honda Es crammed together, some up a grass verge. There's a few at the front too next to the Civics.

All 20 and 70 reg.

Just wondered if they are finding them hard to shift. To my mind £30k is a big ask for a little city car especially when you can get pre reg Dacia Dusters for £11k.

I still think that the manufacturers need to make a no thrills car (ie something like my '98 3 series) with no screens or smart phone for starting it etc with an electric motor.

Of course, maybe the little Honda's have all got deposits on them but the owners can't pick them up because of Lockdowns.

[raspy]

I don't think your comparison is valid. Those people considering a city EV for £30k wouldn't also be considering a Dacia city car for £11k. The Honda E is aimed a particular type of buyer (where affluence, image and lifestyle are key components), and most of the low number of reservations they had prior to UK launch were from people based in London.

With respect to cheaper EVs especially city cars, that will take time. Even the Dacia Spring EV (if it arrives in the UK) is likely to be closer to £17-19k rather than the £11k of a Dacia Duster you cited.

China is the place to look at in terms of budget EV city cars, like the Wuling that is the cheapest EV in China and super popular. That's starts at around the equivalent of £3k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuling_Hongguang_Min...

Not sure if those dirt cheap Chinese EVs would ever make it here though, especially when you think about crash safety regulations

Oh, it does appear that Honda E sales are not that great, hence that's why you see so many sitting around in the showroom.

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/11/08/disappointing...

[gangzoom]

raspy said:

The Honda E is aimed a particular type of buyer (where affluence, image and lifestyle are key components)

Apart from the Type Rs Honda hasn't got the brand image to push sales that way. My mother in law just signed up for a Mini E for £1000 deposit and £340/month for 4 years.

I was surprised to see the Mini E in mid range spec was £28k and Mini dealers are offering £2-3k financial contributions on PCP, so close to £25k actual price.

I have no idea what Honda E prices are like, but it would need to be substantially cheaper than a Mini to attract buyers.

[phil4]

My other half's got one on lease. They're definitely aimed at a very specific segment of the market.

[croyde]

raspy said:

I don't think your comparison is valid. Those people considering a city EV for £30k wouldn't also be considering a Dacia city car for £11k. The Honda E is aimed a particular type of buyer (where affluence, image and lifestyle are key components), and most of the low number of reservations they had prior to UK launch were from people based in London.

With respect to cheaper EVs especially city cars, that will take time. Even the Dacia Spring EV (if it arrives in the UK) is likely to be closer to £17-19k rather than the £11k of a Dacia Duster you cited.

China is the place to look at in terms of budget EV city cars, like the Wuling that is the cheapest EV in China and super popular. That's starts at around the equivalent of £3k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuling_Hongguang_Min...

Not sure if those dirt cheap Chinese EVs would ever make it here though, especially when you think about crash safety regulations

Oh, it does appear that Honda E sales are not that great, hence that's why you see so many sitting around in the showroom.

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/11/08/disappointing...

Thanks for replying. Interesting little article.

[sjg]

There’s been pre-reg / demo ones on autotrader for a while at or just under £25k. One of the Scottish dealer chains mostly but the Chiswick ones just over that. Apparently PCP on a new one is still cheaper (Honda used car finance is silly rates) so people are tending to do that.

Makes more sense at that money if you don’t need finance. Will be shopping for one at the end of the year so hope it continues!

[ReformedPistonhead]

I will get one at the end of lockdown when I am commuting again (need a station car). Purely because they look great and I love the interior.

However I am hoping to pay nearer to £25k than £33k. For a 3 mile each way daily commute they seem perfect. Just need to figure out if you can pre-heat the cabin from a mobile phone, have not discovered how all that works for Honda’s yet.

[phil4]

ReformedPistonhead said:

Just need to figure out if you can pre-heat the cabin from a mobile phone, have not discovered how all that works for Honda’s yet.

In theory, yes. The app allows you to turn the climate on, and turn on auto-defrost.

I say in theory because I've never managed it. The app takes an age to start and connect to the car. and then if you click to turn the climate on, it takes another age and tells you it failed. So in practice, no, I don't think it does.

[Sheepshanks]

I recall reading they had a lot of advance reservations but many cancelled when more details of the car became available - I guess due to range. Perhaps Honda UK ordered cars based on this and is now stuck with them.

I don't know if people think about this, but Honda closing the factory in Swindon, and many dealers closing, has caused people to think they may pull out of Europe. Their sales in UK are terrible - and worse in rest of Europe. We've had a few Hondas in the family and they used to be 'warm and cuddly' to deal with, but that went out of the window a few years ago.

[aestetix1]

It's a halo car, not designed to be a big seller but gives them a platform to test out some new technology and get experience with EVs.

[ReformedPistonhead]

phil4 said:

ReformedPistonhead said:

Just need to figure out if you can pre-heat the cabin from a mobile phone, have not discovered how all that works for Honda’s yet.

In theory, yes. The app allows you to turn the climate on, and turn on auto-defrost.

I say in theory because I've never managed it. The app takes an age to start and connect to the car. and then if you click to turn the climate on, it takes another age and tells you it failed. So in practice, no, I don't think it does.

Thanks, great intel (and likely just cost Honda a sale). It always amazes me how ste in-car tech can be for a seemingly simple task. For winter mornings having the ability to pre-heat the car for a 5 minute journey makes a world of difference.

[phil4]

ReformedPistonhead said:

Thanks, great intel (and likely just cost Honda a sale). It always amazes me how ste in-car tech can be for a seemingly simple task. For winter mornings having the ability to pre-heat the car for a 5 minute journey makes a world of difference.

I agree, and I'll be honest, I don't get it. The app is shockingly bad, and I don't get why they let it fly. They wouldn't have allowed the car out with a heating system that only responded to input on the second Tuesday of odd numbered months, but apparently it's ok to do that with an app.

The rest of the car is pretty darn good though, provided the range isn't an issue (it isn't for my other half, she just uses my car if she wants to do a longer trip... so about twice a year).

[sjg]

You can do it straight off the key if you're within range.

[ReformedPistonhead]

phil4 said:

ReformedPistonhead said:

Thanks, great intel (and likely just cost Honda a sale). It always amazes me how ste in-car tech can be for a seemingly simple task. For winter mornings having the ability to pre-heat the car for a 5 minute journey makes a world of difference.

I agree, and I'll be honest, I don't get it. The app is shockingly bad, and I don't get why they let it fly. They wouldn't have allowed the car out with a heating system that only responded to input on the second Tuesday of odd numbered months, but apparently it's ok to do that with an app.

The rest of the car is pretty darn good though, provided the range isn't an issue (it isn't for my other half, she just uses my car if she wants to do a longer trip... so about twice a year).

I have a few cars, inc a Tesla S Performance so can do long journeys no problem. But given the Tesla is 2.25m wide it is not really suitable for the station car park. And I know from prior experience that doing 6 miles a day in 2 journeys in a petrol car kills it eventually. This is the perfect use case for an EV. Honda can make an aquarium work in the dash with finger tap feeding I believe but struggle to make an App connect to an API in the car via the internet, seems like they have their engineers looking in the wrong places! Peugeot e208 instead potentially they seem to get great reviews.

[Sheepshanks]

ReformedPistonhead said:

Thanks, great intel (and likely just cost Honda a sale). It always amazes me how ste in-car tech can be for a seemingly simple task. For winter mornings having the ability to pre-heat the car for a 5 minute journey makes a world of difference.

After years of messing about with it, VW have recently withdrawn their MyVW app - that couldn't even manage to show service history properly. Bit terrifying when these car manufacturers are trying to move everything online.

[ReformedPistonhead]

sjg said:

You can do it straight off the key if you're within range.

thank you

[phil4]

sjg said:

You can do it straight off the key if you're within range.

Any idea what it sets the climate control to? I presume it's what was last set?

[sjg]

Whatever you've got set in this menu:

|https://thumbsnap.com/7RK5AQ8X[/url]

This also applies:

|https://thumbsnap.com/tNnH6F4u[/url]

Manual is here: https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/manuals-and-gu...

[phil4]

Thanks, and thanks for not just saying "RTFM!"

[Richtea1970]

phil4 said:

ReformedPistonhead said:

Thanks, great intel (and likely just cost Honda a sale). It always amazes me how ste in-car tech can be for a seemingly simple task. For winter mornings having the ability to pre-heat the car for a 5 minute journey makes a world of difference.

I agree, and I'll be honest, I don't get it. The app is shockingly bad, and I don't get why they let it fly. They wouldn't have allowed the car out with a heating system that only responded to input on the second Tuesday of odd numbered months, but apparently it's ok to do that with an app.

The rest of the car is pretty darn good though, provided the range isn't an issue (it isn't for my other half, she just uses my car if she wants to do a longer trip... so about twice a year).

We had the pre-heating on our BMW i3 and it was great, app worked everytime from anywhere, was fantastic. When Covid and WFH started we didn't need 2 cars, and as we had 2 dogs, needed something bigger. My wife would only have another car with remote heating so ended up getting a PHEV Mitsubishi Outlander.
But the ability to pre warm the Outlander is painful, app only works if you are within WiFi distance of the car. Whats the point of having remote heating if you have to be stood next to the car to use it, pointless.