On Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas, the Japanese automaker took the wraps off of two futuristic concept cars that preview a new lineup of EVs dubbed Honda 0. Honda has bold plans to launch 30 new electric models globally by 2030 and transition to exclusively zero-emission sales in the US by 2040. Tuesday’s announcement gives us a better sense of what that transformation will look like in practice.
Two Concept EVs, One Going Into Production
The more significant concept car here is the Saloon, which will serve as the basis of the first Honda 0 production car come 2026. It will launch in 2026 in North America before hitting other markets. Honda says the long, sleek concept sits on a dedicated EV platform and has a “surprisingly spacious” interior made from sustainable materials.
The features found in the Saloon that could make it into a future production vehicle: an airplane-style steering yoke and a steer-by-wire system. The latter means the steering wheel tells the wheels to turn electronically, not mechanically like usual. That type of setup could allow for some interesting capabilities. Turning the steering yoke the same amount could result in different turning behavior in a tight parking lot versus on the highway, for example.
Details are much more scant on the Space Hub concept, a rounded, van-looking thing with a big interior and two rows of seating that face one another. There’s no word yet on whether it’ll inspire a production vehicle, but you can bet that Honda will introduce an SUV to the Honda 0 portfolio sooner rather than later. That’s just what Americans crave.
0 Comments