Lingxi is primarily aimed at younger consumers and will be targeted and priced separately from Honda's all-electric e:NS range.
(Image credit: Dongfeng Honda)
Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture between Japanese auto giant Honda and China's Dongfeng Motor, has launched a fresh new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in China in an attempt to get a piece of the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) market.
Dongfeng Honda unveiled the new brand, called Lingxi, at an event last night and unveiled a concept car, the Lingxi L.
The Lingxi brand's models will be based on a new all-electric platform, and the production version of the Lingxi L, a sedan, will go on sale next year.
Aimed at younger consumers, Lingxi will be targeted and priced separately from Honda's all-electric e:NS range.
The new brand's first model, led by a young R&D team, is a vehicle designed specifically for young people, said Dongfeng Honda.
The Lingxi brand is a new effort that Dongfeng Honda is proactively exploring in the new joint venture era, said the company's vice president Pan Jianxin.
By 2025, the proportion of electrified products from Dongfeng Honda will exceed 50 percent, with a cumulative total of more than 10 all-electric models to be launched by 2030, the company said.
Along with the launch of this new brand, Dongfeng Honda announced channel reforms to advance the electrification transition.
Dongfeng Honda's new franchise stores have upgraded their store design and image, and will be upgraded from sales centers to brand experience centers.
Honda hosted a launch event for the company's electrification efforts in China on October 13, 2021, officially unveiling its all-electric brand, e:N, where "e" stands for Energize and Electric, and "N" for New and Next.
Two production models under the e:N brand -- Dongfeng Honda's e:NS1 and GAC Honda's e:NP1 -- made their debut at the time.
Dongfeng Honda's website shows that the e:NS1 is currently offered in four versions in China, priced from RMB 175,000 ($23,950) to RMB 218,000, the same price as at launch.
Sales of the model in China have been sluggish, with monthly sales of less than 200 units in April-June and 611 units in August, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shared by local automotive media outlet Yiche.
Honda China sold 102,257 vehicles in August, up 14.01 percent from July, but down 25.10 percent year-on-year, according to data it released on September 5.
In the January-August period, Honda China sold 721,657 vehicles, down 23.98 percent year-on-year.
($1 = RMB 7.3078)
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