Frankfurt Motor Show 2017: Honda’s Urban EV Concept previews 2019 production model

Honda has revealed a retro, all-electric city car at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Taking design cues from the first generation 1970s Civic, the Urban EV Concept “sets the direction for technology and design” for a production car due in 2019.

The three-door car is 100mm shorter than a Honda Jazz – so it’s firmly in city car territory, like the Volkswagen Up. In typical concept car style, there are tiny door mirrors and huge wheels, but much of the styling could make it to the production car.

Inside the design is very minimalist, with no centre stack or centre console. Instead there’s a sofa style bench seat and a huge, wide screen that stretches almost the full width of the dashboard. Again, this isn’t likely to make production – but since it’s an EV with few moving parts, the production car should be airy and spacious.

There are no details about the battery system and range, nor about power or performance. Instead, Honda just says there will be a lightweight, high-density battery pack. That said, going by the current speed of progress it should have a range of beyond 200 miles between charges.