Honda Is Tearing Up Its Own Playbook For Its New Electric Cars

The first models of Honda's hotly-anticipated 0 Series of all-electric vehicles premiered at CES 2025 in Las Vegas — and they're living proof that Honda is charting its own course when it comes to consumer EVs. Both the Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon are prototypes intended to show off the automaker's new approach to EVs, with production models for both models expected to launch next year in North America, followed by a global rollout. Production will begin at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio in 2026.

The hyper-sleek and futuristic design of the 0 Series was first unveiled by Honda at last year's CES, though the prototypes at this year's trade show are much closer to what will be available to drivers in 2026. Since that high-profile coming out, Honda's plans for EVs have changed, including the discontinuation of a partnership with GM to create affordable electric vehicles. The cancellation of the joint venture is just part of Honda's wider effort to go its own way as it expands its footprint in the growing EV market. Unlike the Honda Prologue, which runs on GM's Ultium platform, the Honda 0 SUV is built on EV architecture recently developed in-house by Honda. One look at the 0 SUV, as well as the 0 Saloon, and it should be obvious right away that this isn't the only difference between the new vehicles and the Prologue.

When SlashGear reviewed the 2024 Honda Prologue — the flagship EV made by the automaker for North American markets — we praised its sleek styling. It has a somewhat lower design and smoothed-out fascia that makes it visually appealing, although its overall look is relatively conventional. With the 0 Series, however, Honda is tearing up its own playbook and going in a strikingly different direction with a futuristic design that'd look right at home in a cyberpunk video game.

The Honda 0 SUV is based on the Space-Hub prototype seen at last year's CES and includes a large cabin surrounded by wide windows, which add to its roomy feeling while offering drivers and passengers a ton of visibility. Honda says this layout is part of its plan for the 0 Series EVs to be "a 'space' for people" in addition to a means of getting from here to there. This aesthetic is also part of its overall "thin, light, and wise" approach to its new electric vehicles.

The Honda 0 Saloon perhaps embodies this aesthetic even more so than the 0 SUV, with a low height and sporty "wedge-shaped" design that is unlike most passenger EVs currently on the road. Just as with other iconic EVs like the Cybertruck and the Lucid Air, you'll be able to identify a Honda 0 Saloon on the road the moment you lay eyes on one. Its interior is just as distinctive, and offers a more spacious cabin than you might assume from its streamlined exterior. With this radical step forward, Honda has moved away from trying to make its EVs look closer to its traditional ICE models and is embracing the fact that battery-electric vehicles are indeed something new, as well as the future.

Honda also debuted an original vehicle OS called ASIMO, which the automaker named after the groundbreaking ambulatory humanoid robot it first unveiled at CES two decades ago. The name isn't just a cutesy callback, as ASIMO OS will incorporate technologies from the original robot that can "recognize external environments and autonomous behavior control that enabled ASIMO to react while understanding the intentions of people around it."

Honda hopes this infusion of its original ASIMO with its new OS will provide a driving experience that owners haven't had with other EVs. ASIMO OS will integrate management of electronic control units (ECUs) for vehicle systems, including infotainment and automated driving/advanced driver assistance systems (AD/ADAS), as well as a wide variety of other next-generation technologies. It will also enhance digital UX and integrated dynamics controls for a more personalized ride. All models in the Honda 0 Series, including the 0 SUV and 0 Saloon, will be equipped with ASIMO OS, which will be continually updated over-the-air.

OTA updates will also allow Honda to continuously improve the automated driving and driver assistance systems of its 0 Series. The automaker plans to use AI to collect driving data to better learn and "efficiently expand the range of situations where automated driving and driver assistance can be available." By growing its technology in this fashion, Honda expects the range of driving conditions where Level 3 automated driving is possible to gradually expand, starting with traffic congestion on highways. In Japan, Honda was the first manufacturer to offer Level 3 automated driving for conventional use on the road, and the automaker plans to be the leader in "eyes-off" automated Level 3 technology in North America as well.

This process will be accelerated by the partnership between Honda and Renesas Electronics Corporation (Renesas). At CES, Honda and Renesas announced they will work together to develop a high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) that can power more advanced models in the 0 Series, which will launch in the late 2020s. The higher processing power afforded by this chip will allow for a more advanced EV architecture (and more AI capabilities) without a major increase in power consumption.

Finally, Honda announced at CES 2025 that it will launch a Home Energy Management System that allows customers to reduce their environmental impact and save money on energy bills by enabling 0 Series vehicles to recharge themselves at optimal times. Honda also announced a new charging service to help drivers find charging stations and pay for them more easily, as well as plans to help expand charging networks that use the North American Charging Standard (NACS), which the 0 Series is compatible with.