Honda has a new electric SUV. It is called M-NV and shares its basis with the HR-V! There is, however, an important caveat. The Honda M-NV is not intended for Europe.
One car is not the other. But we love to try to bring order to the international car chaos, but Honda is not making it easy for us. The car that we know as HR-V in Europe has two brothers in China that are sold by Honda. This has to do with the fact that the Japanese manufacturer has not one, but two joint ventures in China. The GAC Honda partnership sells ‘our’ HR-V in China as Vezel, among others. Dongfeng Honda partnership sells a version of our HR-V with its own front and rear in the form of the XR-V. Are we still there? It gets more complicated. It is the XR-V that has a slightly modified variant in the form of the X-NV, which is placed under the Ciimo label of Dongfeng Honda. Ciimo is a ‘sub-brand’, aimed at young car buyers, which distinguishes itself from its Honda brothers with its round logos. An electric version of the X-NV has now been presented: the M-NV.
The M-NV is the electric version of this X-NV, which is basically an X-RV. The X-RV is another HR-V.
Honda gives the M-NV a muzzle that differs greatly from that of the aforementioned versions of the Chinese HR-Vs. This new electric SUV to be produced by Dongfeng Honda has its own headlights, an immense looking front bumper and strikingly simple round logos. The lighting at the rear also differs from that of the XR-V. The M-NV has a 163 hp electric motor on board that drives the front wheels. The top speed of the electric Honda M-NV is 140 km / h. It is not yet known how large the battery pack is and how far the M-NV can get on one charge. Unfortunately, this electric Honda is not coming to Europe.
Two-fold
Incidentally, it is not the first time that an electric version based on the HR-V / Vezel is coming. For example, Honda presented the electric Everus VE-1 in 2018. It is not sold by Dongfeng Honda, but by GAC Honda. For example, both Honda’s joint ventures in China have their own electric model. Another example of an SUV that the two joint ventures sell their own versions of is the CR-V. Dongfeng Honda sells the CR-V, GAC Honda this optically different Breeze. Honda also has two larger SUVs on the menu in China: the Avancier from GAC Honda and the technically identical UR-V from Dongfeng Honda.