Say hello to the wedgy Honda 0 Saloon and the Honda 0 SUV. And no, you’re not suffering from some kind of concept car déjà vu, because we have actually seen a version of these cars before.
First unveiled at CES 2024, these two EVs were originally known as the Saloon and the Space-Hub concept. They still look almost identical (although they’re now both painted white and the saloon has new lights—nothing escapes our eagle eyes), and they’re actually still in the prototype phase. But Honda has been busy readying these new 0 Series cars for production, and we now know both will be arriving in 2026.
We hope the Saloon still looks like this when it hits dealers and showrooms (we also hope it gets a better name). Honda said it’ll be the flagship model of the 0 Series, and that its “low height and sporty styling sets the Saloon apart from other EVs.” Um, has anyone warned them about the multitude of all-electric sedans currently on sale? Although, at less than 1,400mm tall, it is also 40mm shorter than a Tesla Model 3.
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All 0 Series cars (we’re expecting the Saloon, this SUV, and five other models worldwide by 2030) will be developed using a ‘Thin, Light and Wise’ approach. We don’t know how light the production cars will end up being, but at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Honda focused on the ‘Wise’ with the announcement of Level 3 automated driving for the 0 Saloon. This will then allow the driver to take their eyes off the road and perform a ‘second task.’ This will first be available in heavy traffic or on highways, but through over-the-air updates, Honda wants to become the first carmaker to enable eyes-off driving in all situations. And yes, it’s using artificial intelligence to help its systems learn how to respond to different scenarios, because everything has to be AI these days. Obviously.
Moving on to the 0 SUV. Honda said it’ll be the first of the new 0 Series cars when it’s introduced in North America in the first half of 2026. It’ll then go on sale in Japan and Europe shortly after, and it’s described as a midsize EV SUV. It looks pretty funky, too, with its blocky design and very, very wide rear end. There should also be some funky tech in there as Honda noted that ‘3D gyro sensors’ have been developed by its robotics team, and it should “enable dynamics at the will of the driver on various road surfaces.” We’re not entirely sure what that actually means, but perhaps it’ll become so popular, Honda won’t be able to resist doing a range of 0 Series Type Rs? We can only hope.
Speaking of robotics, Honda also used CES 2025 to announce its new Asimo OS that will be deployed in the 0 Series cars. Now, those of us in a certain age bracket will have fond memories of Asimo. Honda actually began robotics research and development as far back as 1986, but Asimo—a walking, talking humanoid robot—wasn’t actually unveiled to the world until 2000. His supremely cute little brain has now essentially been molded into an operating system that will look after the car’s ECUs, active safety systems, and its infotainment system. Sadly, going completely virtual does mean Asimo will continue to struggle with stairs. Poor little guy.
That’s about it for detail at this point. Of course, we already know the 0 Series battery would be 6% thinner than those on Honda’s current EVs, while the overall curb weight should be around 100kg less.
There’ll be active aero to improve the drag coefficient, too, and over 480km of range has been mentioned for the Saloon. Honda is still yet to give any indication of price, power, or charging speeds for either of the first two 0 Series cars, but given that it’s targeting a launch in early 2026 we should get more details soon.
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
