EV Plus

This was Honda’s first dedicated, production-intent battery electric nameplate, developed as a purpose-built EV rather than a conversion of an existing car. Honda publicly unveiled the project in 1996 and began production in 1997, with lease programs launched in Japan and in selected U.S. markets. The vehicle was positioned as a practical, limited-volume electric hatchback for real-world evaluation, and it became an important early milestone in Honda’s electrification work. It is especially significant because lessons from this program fed directly into later Honda electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell development. The nameplate did not become a long-running retail model; instead, it remained a short-lived compliance and technology-leasing program from the late 1990s, after which Honda moved on to hybrid production with the Insight.