Honda is changing the naming of its electric cars after customers found the e:N badging too difficult to pronounce.

Honda is typically very good at naming cars. Look at the Civic, Accord, Beat, Prelude, and Odyssey. These are all memorable names for cars that fit their own individual product. A good history does not guarantee good future results, and the brand's choice to sell a car called "e:Ny1" in Europe and China seemed confounding at the time. Honda has apparently noticed, because the name is reportedly already in line for replacement.

e:Ny1 may seem like a clever play on "Anyone," but it is actually a confusing combination of letters and numbers just meant to indicate an electric (e:N) car produced in partnership with one of Honda's Chinese partners.

According to a report from Autocar, the brand is dropping the e:N prefix on all of its Chinese-market EVs going forward because customers "just can't pronounce it." The new system would switch to a more straightforward naming convention of a single letter and a single number, making the e:Ny1 a simple Y1. Unfortunately for customers, this decision was made after the launch of a car called e:NS2.

The switch to the new naming and design language came too late for the new e:NS2 mid-size hatchback, which has just gone on sale in China at ¥159,800 (22,136 USD) – a price so cheap that Honda loses the equivalent of 7,000 USD per car, the source said. 

The e:NS2, which could potentially follow the e:Ny1 to Europe, has a 68.8kWh battery pack for a CLTC range of 339 miles (545 km).

Source: Autocar