Will the Honda E come to Australia?
QUESTION
Hi John,
I have just watched Jonny Smith’s ‘The Late Brake Show’ on YouTube showcase the Honda E in Europe. Clearly we seem to be years behind here, in Australia.
Mindful of the lack of incentives, and a ‘government’ not on the same page, it would be great if you could update us on plans for this and other electric cars for Australia.
I think consumers here would be ready to embrace Honda E and other EVs as soon as they are made available without the taxes applied for imported cars.
Cheers,
Carl
My AutoExpert AFFORDABLE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE PACKAGE
If you’re sick of paying through the neck for roadside assistance I’ve teamed up with 24/7 to offer AutoExpert readers nationwide roadside assistance from just $69 annually, plus there’s NO JOINING FEE
Full details here >>
ANSWER
Carl,
Honda has basically failed commercially in Australia - they just played a last-ditch survival card with the boardroom in Japan (moving to dealership ‘agency’ model - which will probably also fail).
Our three largest sources of cars are (in order) Japan, Thailand and South Korea. There are no import taxes on these cars, because we have free-trade agreements with these three nations.
“Incentives” for EVs means taxpayers funding rich people to make electric cars cheaper, when the money could provide healthcare or pandemic/bushfire preparedness…
(EVs aren’t that green.)
Pro Tip: Humanity cannot engineer a green future through increased consumption of selected products.
Sincerely,
John Cadogan
THINK ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE?
Answering your electric vehicle questions (after 10,000km in a Kona EV) >>
12 things I've learned after driving an electric car 9000km >>
I just designed the perfect real-world EV: Tell me I'm wrong >>
How green is EV ownership? A reality check >>
Kona EV and fat Michelin tyres: A sub-$1000 bang-for-buck dynamics hack >>
Why Tesla is doomed in 2021 >>
Cobalt Blues: Mythbusting your comments about cobalt in EV batteries and fuel >>
LIVESTREAMS
Don't forget to join me for my 'Ask Me Anything' Q&A livestreams on YouTube (Sydney time).
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell icon to get an alert you every time I go live.
More reports
The all-new Kia Tasman 4X4 dual-cab ute is finally coming to Australia in mid-2025. The covers are off, too. Here’s everything we know so far