Peter Lyon
March 1, 2025
Following a successful 2024 in which it maintained its leading position in the Malaysian non-national passenger car market, Honda Malaysia has announced an ambitious goal to launch three new models in 2025.
The new Civic facelift was introduced in January, marking the beginning of the year for the brand. As part of a trio, the fully electric (EV) Honda e:N1 will also make its official debut this year in an effort to maintain the pace.
So what is the final model? Considering our neighbours in the region, we believe it will be the 2025 Honda HR-V facelift. A slightly revised appearance, a new dashboard, and a larger, updated central infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard were all features of the updated model, which was first shown in Thailand in November of last year. And we can expect that model to land in Malaysia by mid-2025.
The Honda e:N1, a crossover electric vehicle, was last seen in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show in 2024 (KLIMS 2024). Although the e:N1’s exterior resembles that of the Honda HR-V, it has a fully electric drivetrain that produces up to 204 horsepower and 310 Nm. A 68.8 kWh battery pack is added to this, giving it a WLTP-rated range of up to 412 km.
The Honda e, which also ceased production last year, is the only other EV offered globally (in several markets), making Honda’s EV lineup fairly conservative.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Like Toyota and several other Japanese carmakers, Honda has been caught napping when it comes to EVs. Several years ago, the brand launched its first dedicated EV—a tiny two-door called simply the Honda e. It went out of production last year, having sold a very limited amount simply because of its restrictive pricing — around ¥5M. Given its size and usability, the new e:N1 is far more practical than the ‘e’ model but Honda will still need to add at least three more EVs to its lineup within the next two years to stay relevant.
