The time has come to say goodbye to 2 vehicles which have considerably reshaped the trade lately. These are two completely completely different automobiles from design and dimensions to positioning and gross sales outcomes.
What have they got in frequent? Each are destined to turn out to be true automotive icons. Here’s a fast abstract of how the Honda from Japan and the Chrysler 300 from the US modified the automotive trade ceaselessly.
Two opposites
The Chrysler 300 is a big saloon powered by huge petrol engines. It’s the basic massive saloon for North American motorists. At 5.044 mm or 198.6 inches lengthy, this Chrysler is a part of the manager saloon section, in opposition to the likes of the defunct Chevrolet Impala, Ford Taurus and Toyota Avalon, amongst many others.
Alternatively, the Honda e is a B-Hatch or electrical supermini designed for the style of motorists in Japan and Europe. It’s designed with iconic shapes and a retro design in each the outside and inside. The Honda e is the model’s first mass-market electrical mannequin, or no less than that was its purpose.
A lifesaver
The American saloon gave Chrysler a world contact and allowed it to look exterior North America. In reality, the primary era of the 300 (obtainable between 2004 and 2010) used many parts of the Mercedes E-Class W211. Chrysler at the moment was a part of the DaimlerChrysler group. In 2011, the model launched a change, formally referred to as the second era, nevertheless it was extra of a extreme replace.
The arrival of Fiat within the Chrysler group was a possibility to develop the presence of the Chrysler 300 globally. In 2011, Lancia determined to rebadge the 300 and promote it in Europe because the Lancia Thema. The operation failed, because the model bought simply 6,000 items between 2011 and 2014. In complete, as Chrysler and as Lancia, the 300 bought about 1.4 million items in nearly 20 years. The 300 was by no means a best-selling automobile, however in the long run it was a lifesaver for Chrysler.
As iconic because it was unpopular
Honda’s impression shouldn’t be about its gross sales quantity, however the visibility it has given the Japanese firm on the planet of electrical automobiles. Though its specs by no means reached trade requirements, the Honda e caught the general public’s consideration attributable to its design and the truth that it put Honda within the electrical automobile market.
The little Honda e by no means wished to shake up the world of electrical automobiles. It has all the time had a excessive value and a low vary. A serious limitation within the first part of the electrification period.
The outcomes are fairly clear: Honda bought solely 12,500 items of this iconic hatchback between 2020 and November 2023. The European quantity accounted for greater than 80 per cent of the overall, and in any case Honda has determined to cease advertising and marketing it. The Honda e:NY1 will probably be its oblique successor.
The creator of the article, Felipe Munoz, is Automotive Business Specialist at JATO Dynamics.
