Honda has announced the Honda 0 Series (pronounced ‘zero’), a series of fully electric vehicles that the Japanese manufacturer will be launching globally from 2026, beginning with the premiere of two concepts, the Saloon and the Space Hub which it has shown at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, United States.
“We have gone back to basics and formulated the Honda 0 Series with a design for the new era. A bold and pure proportion that from the first glance is overwhelmingly different from other EVs to evoke a new perspective for people,” said Honda global EVP Shinji Aoyama.
The Honda 0 Series symbolises the company’s new direction and approach towards design and engineering, with principles that counter the traditional constraints of battery-electric vehicle development.
Among its approaches are the use of a dedicated, thin EV platform employing a low floor, as well as software-defined mobility products. The Honda 0 Series will also introduce new advancements in design, automated driving, connected technologies, performance and battery efficiency, the carmaker says.
The Saloon concept emerges as the flagship of the range, which aims to deliver on the carmaker’s “man maximum, machine minimum packaging concept where the car’s low and wide exterior form contains a surprisingly spacious interior, according to Honda.
Inside the Saloon concept, its instrument panel features a human-machine interface (HMI) that aims to offer simple and intuitive operation, while the interior offers “excellent visibility and a sport driving position,” according to Honda.
The Saloon concept also brings new steer-by-wire advancements as well as motion control systems, while incorporating posture control that will aid the driver in a variety of driving conditions in order to realise ‘the joy of driving’ in the EV era, the carmaker added. A production model based on the Saloon concept is expected to go to market in North America in 2026, says Honda.
Next is the Space Hub concept, which Honda says was developed with the goal of “augmenting people’s daily lives”.
As with the Saloon concept, the Space Hub concept majors on cabin spaciousness and visibility, with the Space Hub adopting a ‘Thin, Light and Wise’ development approach that offers flexibility of space for its passengers, and to be a hub that connects its occupants to the outside world, says Honda.
In contrast with the Saloon concept, the Space Hub concept has yet to be given a timeline for a productionised version that will go on sale.
All Honda 0 Series models in the future will ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) which use technologies employed in the Honda Sensing Elite suite as found in the 2021 Japanese-market Honda Legend, which means a level of autonomous operation of at least Level 3.
This will feature advanced AI, sensing, recognition, and driver monitoring technologies to attain natural and high-precision risk predictions that are more human-like, in order to offer autonomous driving features that people will feel more confident using. This will expand upon some existing hand-off functions for motorways and urban streets.
Honda is also developing an original operating system for the Honda 0 Series models, which will learn its user’s preferences, behaviour and tendencies while driving in order to make suggestions to improve the ownership experience. The OS will also provide information on surrounding areas and ‘last mile’ route guidance towards their destination.
In terms of powertrain, the Honda 0 Series will feature e-Axles (consisting of the motor, inverter and gearbox) that maximise energy efficiency and packaging. Models from the 0 Series range launched from the late-2020s will feature fast charging from 15-80% state of charge which can be attained in 10 to 15 minutes, says Honda, and also minimise battery degradation to less than 10% after 10 years of use.
The productionised car that will emerge from the Saloon concept will be of a similar footprint, around five metres long, reports Autocar. Later, towards the end of the decade, Honda will start to evaluate the viability of models closer to the size of current models such as the Civic, and the Jazz.
Last but not least, the new Honda ‘H’ mark has been unveiled, symbolising two outstretched hands to represent Honda’s commitment to expanding “the possibilities of mobility and continue to meet the needs of its customers.” This will be applied to future Honda EV models, including the upcoming Honda 0 Series.
Honda Saloon concept
Honda Space Hub concept
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