Honda teased the reveal of the first two Honda Zero prototypes, which will be making their official debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The company also said it would have a new proprietary operating system for the global electric vehicle series to show off.
Honda announced Honda Zero at CES 2024, describing it as a new “global EV series” that would be “lighter” and more space-age than the current crop of heavy, boxy electric SUVs and trucks. The three defining principles of Honda Zero were “thin,” “light,” and “wise.” And the company would use its learnings from F1 and its robotics work to introduce a new lineup of vehicles that were distinctly of the future.
At the upcoming CES, Honda says it will expand on its “wise” principle by releasing more details about its new OS, automated driving technologies, and an overview of its system-on-a-chip that will support its Honda Zero vehicles.
The teaser image features rear profiles of the two concept vehicles first revealed earlier this year: the Saloon and the Space-Hub. The Saloon has a sloping fastback shape with unique rectangular lights in the front and rear that resemble a vintage Black & Decker Dustbuster. The Space-Hub resembles a minivan with minimal overhangs and a rear light that has a similar look to Rivian’s electric delivery vans for Amazon.
Earlier this year, Verge contributor Abigail Bassett flew out to Japan to get up close with Honda’s new global EV series. She drove a prototype CR-V equipped with Honda Zero tech and found it to be lighter and more nimble than a Honda Prologue.
The new Honda Zero platform feels similar to other EV platforms on the market in terms of acceleration and handling. Because the weight is low in the floor, the prototype CR-V cornered quickly and flat as you approached the limit. The powertrain is quick and responsive, and on the short, front straight that the engineers set up for our test laps, I hit 110km (just shy of 70mph) in a relatively short distance.
It will be interesting to see more production-ready versions of the Saloon and Space-Hub in the flesh, especially with all the chatter about Honda in the background (working on solid-state batteries, collaborating with Sony on the Afeela EV, potentially merging with Nissan).