Honda has 3D-printed an electric shortbread delivery van

The headline pretty much sums up a) everything that you need to know about this micro EV, and b) everything that is excellent about this micro EV. Meet Honda's Hato sablé delivery van.

Hato sablé, if you're unaware, is Japanese dove-shaped shortbread, and it is the prime cargo of this 3D-printed tiny EV. The car itself was jointly developed by Honda and Kabuku Inc, based on a variable design platform and unveiled at this year's CEATEC Japan show.

The chassis itself was built using Honda's lightweight pipe-frame structure, but the body panels and luggage space were all produced using a 3D printer. 3D printing things like this isn't new, of course: last year, we brought you news of a 700bhp 3D-printed supercar.

Power comes from Honda's micro EV tech - already used on the MC- β ultra compact EV in Japan - with 15bhp, and is capable of travelling up to 50 miles at a heady top speed of 43mph. It weighs 600kg. It is 2.5m in length, 1.2m in width and stands 1.5m tall.

This particular micro EV only has space for a driver, though, because of its "generous space to carry deliveries of sweet treats". That'll be the dove-shaped shortbread, Toshiyama's "most famous product". Yep, brilliant.