Honda unveils striking new 0 Series that completely rethinks its EV future
Honda has announced two radical concept cars at this year’s CES 2024, which the Japanese brand says are the result of “going back to the starting point as a car manufacturer” and “creating completely new electric vehicles from scratch.”
The pair of EVs consists of the sleek, impressive design of the Saloon concept and the altogether more practical (but equally striking) Space-Hub. They will ride on an entirely new architecture that, according to Honda, bucks the trend of modern electric cars being “thick and heavy”.
Instead, Honda says its upcoming electric offering will be “thin, light and wise,” which is a reference to both concepts’ low-roof design and the fact that they’re destined to have lighter, more compact battery technology with fast-charging capabilities.
Sensible is just another way of saying ‘smart’, as the Japanese brand spoke of its aim to not only rid the world of emissions, but also reduce the number of accidents and road deaths to zero. To do this, it is working on next-generation Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), or in other words, high levels of ‘hands-off’ autonomous driving.
Although they both look like show cars, Honda is confident that the Sedan’s exterior styling will remain largely unchanged, with only some of the weirdest features (like the gull-wing doors) being lost when it comes to production.
Honda has a solid track record of keeping its word, as its revolutionary but now defunct Honda e remained fiercely faithful to the production car on which it was based.
The company says we can expect the Honda 0 Series, complete with redesigned Honda logo, to arrive in North America in 2026, with plans to roll it out to Japan, Asia, Europe and other markets soon after.
Will the 0 series feature Sony technology?
Sony’s press conference on the eve of the official opening of CES 2024 was a bit of a downer for car fans, despite Sony Honda Mobility president Izumi Kawanishi driving a slightly updated version of his Afeela concept car onto the stage with just a PS5 controller.
However, the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture is making progress, with the pair revealing that the updated – but still awkwardly named – Afeela car (this is the third time we’ve seen it at CES) now features Epic’s Unreal Engine 5.3 Games are the driving force behind the advanced visuals of the next-generation infotainment system.
To demonstrate this, we saw 3D graphics fill the immense full-width display, while the navigation system reproduced the landscape outside the car in beautifully rendered simulated form.
This technology also contributes to the high level of autonomous driving that Afeela is capable of, with the real-time simulation allowing the vehicle to effectively create a ‘digital twin’ and be more acutely aware of its surroundings.
Sony was keen to point out that it plans to bring its vast entertainment universe into the car, whether that’s games or movies, while augmented reality racing simulations could be a thing of the future if the short Gran Turismo-based stitch, which saw Afeela racing virtual cars, is everything you can imagine.
While there was no mention of Honda’s new 0 Series at Sony’s press conference, we can only imagine that the partnership will eventually spill over to Honda’s upcoming production vehicles, especially considering that Honda is essentially starting with a clean slate and covering all aspects includes. including infotainment.
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