Brand’s new wave of clean-sheet electric cars, called 0 Series, will kick off in 2026 with striking large saloon
FELIX PAGE
Honda will initiate a radical new range of electric cars in 2026, totally unrelated to its current ones, starting with a striking large saloon that majors on driver engagement, spaciousness and efficiency.
The saloon that will spearhead this revolutionary range of EVs – dubbed the 0 Series – was previewed at CES by a concept that is said to be a very close representation of what will reach showrooms.
Representing a ground-up overhaul of the Japanese brand’s approach to EV development, 0 Series models will be sold in global markets, including Europe, following a launch in the US.
Honda’s European boss, Katsuhisa Okuda, said the 0 Series is about “creating outstanding projects from zero, unconstrained by existing assumptions”.
With this line of EVs, Honda is “going back to the starting point of [itself] as an auto maker and creating new EVs from zero”, hence the name.
The concept, called simply the Saloon, will “90% keep this appearance” as it evolves for production, confirmed chief designer Toshinobu Minami.
Its rakish silhouette stems from Honda’s desire for “lower and wider vehicles”, he said, but it wasn’t conceived as a dedicated sporting EV to rival the likes of the Porsche Taycan.
“We try to aim for the ultimate functional beauty, and we landed on this sporty design,” explained Minami. “Giving it more interior space while making it sporty at the same time is difficult, but that’s what we’re pursuing.”
Minami said that Honda did not take inspiration from any past models when designing the Saloon, with its wedge-shaped silhouette, bluff rear end and pixel-style LED headlights.
He described the design language as being rooted instead in “trying to create the shape of the function while making it emotional”.
It will lose some of the more outlandish features for production, including the gull-wing doors. The high-definition digital display on the front end could survive, but Minami said Honda is evaluating “what would be good to display”.
The Saloon could also take an actual name, rather than an alphanumerical designation lik
