The electric future of Honda is "zero", and here is a brief preview

Its name is “Series Honda 0”. Just as it sounds, with “zero”, it is the name chosen by Honda for the new range of electric vehicles that the Japanese brand will launch globally from 2026, starting in the North American market. That is why they have chosen the CES in Las Vegas to unveil the first two prototypes of this series worldwide, the Honda Saloon and the Honda Space-Hub.

Two very different cars that share the fundamental values the brand wants to give these new vehicles: artistic design, advanced driver-assistance technologies, a cabin where space is experienced in a new dimension thanks to connectivity and the internet of things, driving pleasure, and unmatched electric efficiency. The first four points sound very much like “show prototypes”, but beyond what we will see now, we are left with what is promised in the last point: fast charging from 15% to 80% in about 10-15 minutes and, above all, limiting the deterioration of battery capacity – in other words, of its range – to less than 10% after 10 years of use. Without a doubt, magnificent news.

Honda Saloon: the saloon of the future is already here

With the standardisation of electric propulsion and the advantages it brings, designers must be rubbing their hands together, as a new world of possibilities opens up. And although no cars with the futuristic aesthetic that suits this type of architecture have reached the market yet, it will be a matter of time. At Honda they see it this way, and the Honda Saloon is a clear example: a saloon that immediately stands out for its low height, more typical of a sports car, and for its completely fluid lines. Although as for those huge gull-wing doors… honestly, I don’t see it.

Keep the concept in mind, especially its interior. A car designed to be driven, but also to be driven by someone else once autonomous driving truly arrives, with a new human-machine interface that we will probably see in the brand’s future launches, and which this prototype also previews with systems such as posture control. In its press release, the Japanese brand also talks about the Saloon “aims to achieve control of the driver’s will in various driving situations”. I hope that, rather than a statement of intent, it is simply a headline-grabbing attention call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8nLOC9GhOE

Honda Space Hub: the reinvention of the MPV

Radically opposed to the Saloon, yet sharing the same design language, the Space Hub aims to reinvent the MPV by focusing on flexible space and connectivity. And here everything fits, from a retractable dashboard in which the steering wheel is also fully retractable when the car is in autonomous mode, and which integrates a screen that runs from side to side of the car, to a concept of roof and windows that gives an unimaginable sense of freedom and brightness, given the car’s waist-height belt line and the small amount of glazed side surface relative to the sheet metal, fibre… or whatever the bodywork is made of. The best part is that you should see it on video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idUscAG-qkc