Cake point and ballroom
When it comes to fully electric cars, Honda is certainly not at the forefront. That has to be different and it will be different soon, Honda believes. In 2026 it will release the first models of a completely new EV family: the 0 series. During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Japanese look ahead to the first 0 models with two study models.
The e:NY1 is the only electric Honda that you can currently order in Europe. One is better than none, but Honda’s electric model range isn’t exactly brimming with versatility. From 2040, Honda only wants to sell fully electric cars or cars with a fuel cell on board everywhere in the world. That means: work to be done. Honda will launch thirty new electric cars worldwide by 2030. For a long time it was unclear what Honda will do in Europe in the EV field. We now know a little more about that.
Zero
During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Honda will launch the ‘0 Series’, a series of fully electrically powered new cars that will be sold worldwide. Indeed: worldwide. So you can also expect the 0 models in Europe. During the CES, Honda brings the Saloon and the Space-Hub onto the stage, two study models with which Honda gives a rough idea of ​​what you can expect from the first electric Hondas of the 0 series. That Honda is serious about the 0 series is evident from the fact that it has designed its own Honda logo for the electric models of that series of EVs. This again consists of an H, but is much simpler in design than the one on Hondas as you know them now. Why ‘zero series’? According to Honda, because it develops the EVs of this line ‘from scratch’. So it concerns so-called dedicated electric models, cars that are not also available with a combustion engine and that are therefore intended as EVs from the outset. According to Honda, ‘0’ also stands for ‘zero environmental impact’ and ‘zero fatal traffic accidents’.
Honda’s logo for the 0-series models.
The first models of Honda’s 0 series will be on the market in 2026. The first in North America, by the way. We do not yet know when the first copies of Honda’s new international EV series will come to Europe. Honda does report that the Japanese, Asian and European market introduction of the 0-series models, as well as those in Africa, the Middle East and South America, will follow the North American one.
Against big EVs
Honda says it wants to avoid the ‘big and heavy’ image of electric cars. For example, the electric models of the 0 series must be relatively low, partly due to the use of an EV platform that must enable a low floor height. In addition, the EVs must in a certain sense feel light and therefore especially dynamic. Honda also promises that the 0-series models will be marketed as ‘more affordable EVs with automated driving functions’. In addition, the EVs must be packed with smart software and artificial intelligence so that the car ‘learns’ from its drivers and occupants. And further? Honda talks about lightweight, high-density battery packs, e-axles, a large range and aerodynamic design. A battery pack can be fully charged from 15 percent to 80 percent of its capacity with fresh electricity in 10 to 15 minutes. Future music is not yet music that you can actually hear, but Honda knows how to deliver it beautifully and somewhat woolly.
Honda’s Saloon: the electric flagship.
Saloon and Space Hub
The Honda Saloon is the low study model that the brand showed during the CES. According to Honda, the Saloon will be the flagship of the 0 series. That almost pie-slice-shaped Saloon should be quite spacious, according to Honda. Honda has not yet provided detailed information, although it does indicate that the car has steer-by-wire technology on board and is packed with – how could it be otherwise – sustainable materials. Want to send a sporty game? That seems to be going well. Honda calls the Saloon the EV with which it strives for ‘the ultimate driving pleasure in the EV era’.
Obviously: a hub.
The Space Hub is the 0-series EV with which Honda – we are not making this up – wants to ‘augment people’s daily lives’. What exactly does that mean? We leave that to your own imagination. Something like that certainly sounds interesting at a technology fair like the CES. The Space Hub must, among other things, have a flexible and therefore versatile interior. But Honda’s marketing apparatus has come up with even more. This is how the Space Hub should “[…] become a hub that connects people with people and people with society.” Pure PR poetry. We are especially looking forward to the first more concrete EVs of the 0 series.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl