Honda N-Van e: Arrives As An All-Electric Commercial Kei Van

Making its debut into the burgeoning light commercial vehicle (LCV) market in Japan this week is the all-new Honda N-Van e: – the all-electric version of Honda’s best-selling kei commercial van model. Set to make its first public unveiling in the upcoming 2023 Japan Mobility Show (JMS) next month, this EV kei van retains its ICE-powered twin’s practicality, but now with a silent, zero-emission powertrain.

While Honda has yet to detail the exact specifications of the N-Van e:’s powertrain, the Japanese marque claims it will have ample grunt to accelerate this kei van, even with a maximum 350 KG load on-board. Meanwhile, the servo-assisted brakes make it easier to control deceleration so that cargo doesn’t fall over, while the brakes themselves are beefier compared to the ICE-powered version.

The N-Van e: swaps its ICE-powered twin's 660 CC mill for a single motor setup, juiced by a floor-mounted battery pack with 210 KM of EV range

Juicing up the N-Van e: is a floor-mounted battery pack with an undisclosed capacity, garnering this EV van with up to 210 KM of maximum EV range (WLTC), though its interior climate controls are somewhat optimised in the process. Charging them up should be no big fuss, as the N-Van e: supports DC charging at 50 kW rate, enabling the pack to go from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, AC charging rate is capped at 6.0 kW, while the N-Van e: supports Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality at up to 1.5 kW rate – more than enough to power some home appliances.

The N-Van e:'s charging port is located at the front grille, which is made of a recycled plastic material

Visually, the N-Van e: looks painstakingly similar to its ICE-powered twin, with only the notable difference (aside from its e: badging) being its redesigned front grille which now houses this kei EV’s charging port. Aside from that, the N-Van e: stood as a pretty simple, boxy LCV that rides on a set of steelie wheels, while featuring two sliding doors that allows you to move huge loads with ease.

Things are a tad bit more impressive as we get inside the N-Van e:. For starters, the N-Van e: is available in three trim levels, with one of them featuring a two-seater layout – allowing for roomier cargo space. Fortunately, the two four-seater variants both come with foldable seats, meaning that you can easily expand your cargo space.

As expected, cabin equipment and trims are pretty minimalistic, but at least Honda offers a full-swing of Honda SENSING active safety suite, on top of the Honda Connect mobile service. Both features, however, are only reserved for the top-specced, four-seater variant.

Set to go on sale later in Spring 2024, the all-new Honda N-Van e: will make its first public debut at the upcoming 2023 JMS (also known as the Tokyo Motor Show), where it will be displayed alongside a slew of Honda concept EVs. Honda targets to sell this EV LCV at around JPY 1 million (RM31,489), though the Japanese automaker has yet to finalise them for now.