While many automakers have begun paring back and slowing down their EV programs, Honda is just getting going – as it made clear during a news conference at the Japan Mobility Show on Wednesday. The country’s third-largest automaker rolled out a pair of “concept” battery-electric vehicles that will, in fact, make it into production next year.
The Honda 0 α – or “Alpha,” is set to become the third entry into the automaker’s new 0 Series EV family. The Honda Super-ONE, meanwhile, is a compact hatchback which, the automaker said, is designed to “pursue the ‘fun of driving,” offering features such as a Boost Mode and simulated shifts.
Unfortunately for American EV fans, neither of the two are scheduled to make it into U.S. showrooms. For now, anyway, though Honda executives told Autoblog we may see them make the jump across the Pacific in modified form at a later date.
Honda Electrifies
For an automaker that helped coin the term, “electrified,” Honda has been relatively slow to expand its battery-based line-up – especially when it comes to all-electric products. At the moment, it only offers a small handful of EVs, with the two models available in the States coming out of a joint venture with General Motors. And it has now halted production of the Acura ZDX due to weak sales.
Honda’s now charging ahead with an assortment of homegrown battery-electric packages, including its distinctively quirky 0 Series line-up which will debut in 2026. The Alpha will become the third member of that family.
The Super-ONE, meanwhile, adopts an even smaller footprint and will be positioned as a sort of all-electric “hot hatch.” The product development team set out to create an EV that would be as much fun to drive as any comparable gas-powered model.
Honda 0 α
The Alpha picks up on the distinctive “Thin, Light and Wise” design language used for the bigger and more lavishly appointed O Series SUV. It features a steeply raked windshield, swept roofline and reverse-angle backlight, key elements in its overall aerodynamic shape. In the concept form, it picks up on 0 SUV’s pixelated LED headlamps and wraparound taillights.
Like the SUV, Alpha rides on a skateboard-like platform. But Honda isn’t offering any insights into the powertrain, beyond saying it will be all-electric. Odds are it will use a single electric motor delivering less power – and likely shorter range – than the O SUV package. That comes as no surprise since Alpha is being positioned as an affordable entry. And that, in turn, makes sense since it will initially debut in Japan and then see production launch in India, the subcontinent expected to be its primary market.
In current form, it is “absolutely not for the North American market,” said Alpha program leader Toshikazu Hirose. That said, Honda will “consider” using Alpha as a “possible” model for an affordable EV it could market under the O Series banner in the States.
Honda Super-ONE
Fans of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed may recognize the Super-ONE. An earlier version, the Super EV Concept, made its run up the iconic hill climb last July.
Super-ONE has multiple goals, as far as Honda is concerned. It needed to be not only affordable but small enough to appeal to urban dwellers in places like Japan and the UK. It also needed to be able to “transform everyday mobility into an exciting and uplifting experience.”
The production model is “sporty, unique and agile,” said Hidetomo Horita, the project’s chief engineer. One of its mor interesting features is a button-operated electric Boost Mode which “increases the power output to enable the power unit to fully unleash its performance potential, while also synchronizing the simulated 7-speed transmission and the Active Sound Control system to generate powerful engine sound and sharp gearshift feel, as if driving an engine-powered vehicle with a traditional multi-gear transmission.”
Like Honda 0 α, Super-ONE is set to go into production in Japan sometime next year, according to Honda, followed by “other regions with strong demand for compact EVs.” That could include the UK, as well as other Asian markets, said Horita. “It’s too small for the U.S.,” he explained, though it may also influence future models aimed at the States where performance is as important as range.
