Honda e is first Japanese car to win German Car of the Year award

The Honda e has managed to bag yet another award. This time, it's a big one. After being taking top honors at the 2020 Red Dot Design Award earlier this year, it seems the Japanese automaker's cute EV has been named German Car of the Year 2021. Yes, you read that right, a Japanese vehicle just won the Car of the Year award in Germany. It's also the first time that's ever happened.

It's not easy to win the Car of the Year award in Germany either. The German Car of the Year awards is decided by a jury of leading German car journalists. The panel tests and reviews the latest cars, ranking them according to their usability, driving characteristics, market relevance, and level of innovation. The winners of five categories – Compact, Premium, Luxury, New Energy, and Performance – then go head-to-head to decide an overall winner.

If you think about it, the Honda e went up against numerous European models for the title of German Car of the Year and still came out victorious. It shows that the cute EV hatchback has a lot of potential when compared to its European rivals.

“For Honda e to be the first Japanese car to be awarded German COTY is a great honor and one we are incredibly proud to receive. Customer and media response to the Honda e since it was first unveiled has been overwhelmingly positive. The Honda e is a perfect example of a product with a unique design, featuring cutting-edge technology and advanced intelligent connectivity to keep owners connected with their everyday life. We are very thankful for this award,” said Katsuhisa Okuda, president of Honda Motor Europe.

In review, the Honda e is a small EV hatchback with a 35.5 kWh battery pack. The single electric motor produces either 136 PS or 154 PS and generates 315 Nm torque. It has a maximum range of around 220 km per charge, more than enough to get around cities of Europe.

Launched earlier this year, the e is one of Honda's most important models today. It marks an important step as the company sets to electrify its entire mainstream European lineup by 2022. Unfortunately, the rest of the world is unlikely to get the model.

The e is currently available only in Japan and in Europe. Hopefully, Honda decides to launch the EV hatchback in other countries, including the Philippines in the future.