Kuwahara-san is following up on a statement made by then President & Director of Asian Honda and now Executive Vice-President of Honda Motor Co., Shinji Aoyama in 2017.

At the time, Aoyama-san said there was two stages in the roll out of electrified vehicles. The first being the introduction of hybrid vehicles, while the second means offering both pure battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell hybrid (FCEV) models.

Both Aoyama-san and Kuwahara-san believe that ASEAN still isn’t in the second stage. However, before that, Honda will be completing the first stage to “perfection.” This means the carmaker will roll out more gasoline-electric models destined for ASEAN and the Philippines. It would mean penetrating more segments with hybrids which are “well-engineered” and “fun-to-drive.” Eventually, they plan to increase the ratio of the electrified models that they sell in the region.

Although they concede that the second stage to electrification is still “yet to come” for the ASEAN Region, Kuwahara-san dropped a bombshell: Honda will be launching their first-ever battery electric vehicle (BEV) by early next year. Though unnamed, it will be rolled out in Thailand first before eventually making it to more Southeast Asian markets. This will be followed by a battery electric version of the Elevate SUV for the Indian market by 2025.

Though Kuwahara-san didn’t mention which particular Honda BEV would make it to the region, if they plan to produce it in Thailand, the likely candidate is the e:N1 (called e:Ny1 in the European market and e:NS1 or e:NP1 in Chinese market). It shares its basic platform with the HR-V making it a shoe-in at Honda’s Ayutthaya or Prachinburi assembly plants. However, because the platform has been heavily-modified, it meant spinning it off as the e:Architecture F.

The e:N1 is a front-driven compact crossover BEV with 204 horsepower and 310 Nm of torque. The fixed reduction gear delivers a 0 to 100 km/h time of about 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h. Under the floor sits a 68.8-kWh lithium-ion battery that delivers up to 412 kilometers of range. It’s also capable of DC fast charging.

It’s still early to tell how Honda will position the e:N1 for the ASEAN market, but they didn’t mince words when they cited the likes of the MG 4, MG ZS EV, GWM Haval Ora 03 (Good Cat), Hyundai Kona Electric, and the Nissan Leaf as their benchmark vehicles. If that’s true, expect the e:N1 to reveal at just below the P 2-million mark.