Honda has announced a radical reboot of its electric vehicle range at CES 2024, with two boldly styled EV prototypes heralding the new 0 Series.
The so-called 0 Series Saloon and Space-Hub serve as introductions to a brand new EV series, which Honda claims is being made “from zero”.
Honda’s 0 Series Saloon is the more sleek and futuristic-looking of the two, appearing to have been lifted from the world of Cyberpunk 2077. While it’s sleeker and sportier than your average EV, Honda claims that it offers a deceptive amount of cabin space. It also boasts an intuitive human-machine interface (HMI).
The Space-Hub, meanwhile, appears to have come from a cleaner and more utopian take on the future, with a boxier people carrier-like design. It features a spacious cabin and a high degree of visibility
The shared vision for both of these prototypes, and for the 0 Series in general, is to transcend the ‘thick and heavy’ approach that typifies current EV design. This comes down to build such electric vehicles around a huge battery.
Honda’s fresh approach is described in three words: “Thin, Light, and Wise”. Thin means that it’s going to reduce the height of its EVs, boosting aerodynamic performance by lowering the floor height.
Light is an obvious one. Lighter EVs will mean greater energy efficiency, and thus greater range. It’ll achieve this through the development of lightweight, high-density battery packs. They’ll be fast-charging too, with an estimated charge time from 15% to 80% in around 10 to 15 minutes.
Wise is the most interesting of the three words, referring to the sophisticated software that will drive the 0 Series. We’ve already had a hint of what this might involve through Honda’s much-publicised partnership with Sony, which will surely inform its new stand-alone EV series.
Think AI and big data learning a driver’s preferences for everything from music choice to driving style, then making appropriate recommendations. It’ll also provide information and route guidance on the final steps of your journey after you leave the car.
Beyond that, Honda will make ‘Wise’ EVs with an ADAS (advanced driver-assistive system) that provides a degree of automated driving. Later in the 2020s, it intends to implement a full AD (automated driving) system employing “advanced AI, sensing, recognition/decision-making and driver monitoring technologies”.
Honda’s goal with this next phase of AD is to increase the number of situations where you can go hands-off on motorways, and to bring some of those hands-off applications to regular roads.
The company says that this new 0 Series EV range will hit roads in 2026.
