Honda previews flagship EV sedan at CES 2024

Honda has showcased a radically styled “Saloon” concept at the ongoing CES 2024 at Las Vegas. This new concept serves to preview a line of revolutionary new EVs dubbed the 0 Series, and is 90 percent ready for production in 2026. At its unveiling at CES in Las Vegas, bosses confirmed that the final car is designed and testing of the production car is now underway at Honda's US headquarters, ahead of an expected reveal in 2025.

The new Saloon concept previews the first model in Honda's new 0 Series electric car line-up. Representing a ground-up overhaul of the Japanese brand's approach to electric car development and focusing on efficiency, engagement, spaciousness and autonomy, the new 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", hence the 0 Series name.

Honda Saloon EV concept: exterior design, interior 

At the event, Honda showed two concepts previewing this new family: a rakish, low-slung flagship simply named the Saloon and the larger Space-Hub, a flexibility-focused people-mover that blends elements of SUVs and MPVs. The Space Hub concept has not been confirmed for production; however, a smaller, similarly conceived SUV is inbound as part of the 0 Series, which follows similar principles.

Space-Hub concept

The Saloon, meanwhile, will "90 percent keep this appearance", confirmed designer Toshinobu Minami, adding that it will lose some of the concept's more outlandish features for production, including the gullwing doors. Its rakish silhouette stems from Honda's desire for "lower and wider vehicles", said Minami, but it has not been conceived as a dedicated sporting EV to rival the likes of the Porsche Taycan.

On the inside, the high-definition digital display on the front end could make it to showrooms, he added, but said Honda is evaluating "what would be good to display". It could also take an actual name, rather than a numerical or alphabetical designation like e:NY1, into production. 

Minami was quick to deny that Honda has taken inspiration from any past models in creating the Saloon concept, with its wedge-shaped silhouette, bluff rear end and pixel-style LED headlights. He described the design language as being rooted, instead, in creating the "ultimate functional beauty". "We're not particularly aiming for this shape," he said, "but we're trying to create the shape of the function while making it emotional."

While the exterior is described as nearly ready for showrooms, the interior is "more show car", said Minami. The final cockpit design is scheduled to be shown in the near future. The concepts haven't been designed to preview direct replacements for any existing Honda models, but the production cars they inspire will sit at the heart of Honda's global EV line-up.

The concept models wear a reinterpreted version of Honda's H-mark emblem, which will be rolled out to production cars from 2026. 

Honda Saloon EV concept: battery, aerodynamic efficiency

The company said: "Honda will strive to create new value for EVs by transcending the constraints of being thick and heavy due to the large and heavy battery necessary to secure long enough range, as well as a large and heavy body and platform necessary to accommodate such batteries."

While Honda stopped short of precisely detailing how it will reduce the size and weight of these new EVs, it did outline a new ethos that lies at the heart of its product development strategy: "Thin, light and wise." Under this banner, it will seek to maximise aerodynamic efficiency – an endeavour best showcased by the ultra-sleek Saloon concept – by reducing the height of its cars' silhouettes and using a new 'thin' EV platform, unrelated to its current architecture, that reduces the floor thickness.

The battery packs will be lighter and denser than those in use today to give an increased range – of more than 483km– while taking up less space. They will be capable of charging from 10-80 percent capacity in between 10 and 15 minutes. Few technical details have been released in this regard, but each 0 Series car will be driven by e-axles – which comprise motors, inverters and gearboxes in one unit – with "excellent power conversion efficiency and packaging."

New battery management software – developed with learnings from more than one million electrified Hondas currently on the road – will help to reduce battery degradation, with Honda aiming for its batteries to still have more than 90 percent usable capacity after 10 years of use.

All 0 Series cars will feature an automated driving system that builds on the Level 3 Sensing functionality currently offered on the Legend sedan in the US. The new system, currently in development, will use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its decision-making abilities and provide more human-like responses, Honda said.

Crucially, though, Honda does pledge that its autonomous-capable EVs will be "more affordable" than those currently on the market, suggesting that prices for this technology can come down with scale. 

Honda didn't confirm how many cars will ultimately form the 0 Series line-up, but said the immediate focus is on mid-large EVs of a similar footprint to the five-metre-long Saloon concept. Towards the end of the decade, bosses suggest, they will begin to evaluate the business case for smaller models in the vein of the Civic and Jazz.

Honda’s EV plan for India

Apart from the concepts shown at the CES, Honda is working on an Elevate-based EV, internally known as Honda ACE EV for India and other emerging markets. This new SUV will go on sale in India first and will be exported to other nations as well. Read more on that here.