Horsepower, kilowatts compete at 2019 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

Is Europe getting serious about electric vehicles? Look no further than the EV-intensive 2019 Geneva motor show.

There still was plenty of old-school horsepower making news at this year's Geneva motor show in early March, but there was no question it's fast becoming a kilowatt kinda world. The number of electric and electrified vehicles-concept and production-ready-on display made it abundantly clear that at least in Europe, electrification's “if” definitely is no longer a question. And the “when” appears to be pretty darn soon.

Although there were legitimate newsmaking vehicle introductions all over the Geneva show, the poster child for Europe's intensifying enthusiasm for electrification had to be Honda's E Prootype (see page 10), a near-production version of the universally praised Urban EV Concept shown at Frankfurt in 2017. The Urban EV's funky front bench seat is replaced by a familiar seating setup and the twin suicide doors also have morphed into four conventionally-hinged doors, but the e Prototype remains alluringly proportioned for the European market. And its rear-drive layout indicates Honda may not intend the production version to be a dull urban-transport pod.