Honda will roll out a new sedan built on the “0 Series” architecture by 2026, followed by an SUV variant. The company’s EV strategy in a briefing to journalists at its Tochigi R&D center that showcased running prototypes employing the new 0 Series architecture announced at CES in January.

The Saloon sedan version will arrive first, while the Space-Hub SUV/people-mover version will follow, with the product line proliferating to a total of seven models by 2030 in small, medium, and large sizes. CES 2025 will host the unveiling of a new Honda 0 Series model. Some of these cars will be for Honda's upmarket Acura brand, while others will be for the company's Afeela joint venture with Sony.

The Honda 0 Series chassis shows its high-strength steel construction. HONDA

These cars will be lighter than competitive electric vehicles thanks to the use of high-strength steel and high-pressure megacasting aluminum structures in the chassis. Honda says that hot-stamped 2.0 gigapascal ultra-high-strength steel contributes to the Saloon’s ability to boast a low overall height (less than 1.4 meters, or 55.1 inches). The minimal aerodynamic drag created by that low roofline will contribute to the Saloon’s predicted 300 miles of EPA driving range.

The company will employ Constant Direct Current Chopping, a Honda original technology for welding multiple materials of different thicknesses, to mate the various types of steel used in the chassis. Additionally, a 6,000-ton Buhler high-pressure die-casting press can inject more than 440 lbs. of molten aluminum into a die in just milliseconds, which Honda will exploit to cast the 0 Series’s battery case.

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Honda's Buhler megacasting press for 0 Series battery housings could also stamp chassis sections in the future. HONDA

This reduces weight and part count from 60 pieces to only five. Additionally, Honda says that it intends to large-scale die-casting technology to chassis sections in the future, in the manner we’ve seen previously from Tesla, Volvo, and Maserati. Using friction stir welding on the cast battery case lets Honda trim the pack height by 6 percent, according to the company.

The steel chassis structure is minimized to reduce weight, with a design that Honda says whittles 220 lbs. from the car’s mass. They also claim to have managed the resulting chassis flex in a way that improves handling, so that this deflection isn’t a detriment.

Conventional wisdom says the unibody structure is an undamped spring whose rigidity is best maximized, letting the suspension dampers do their carefully tuned work. If Honda engineers have found an alternative to this approach, it will be interesting to hear their explanation and to experience their results first-hand.

Related:Honda and Sony’s Afeela EV Joint Venture Gets Serious

The cars will feature steer-by-wire technology that sets the stage for future automated driving features. This could make it hard to discern any shortcomings in handling due to chassis flex. Honda’s record delivering crisp-handling vehicles and with executing by-wire technology in the Acura NSX sports car’s brakes earn the company the benefit of the doubt on its claims, but it will be interesting to get into the cars when they arrive two years hence.

The 0 Series motors and power electronics are also optimized for reduced mass. The silicon carbide power inverter is 40 percent smaller than a conventional unit would be. With space protected for electric drive units at the front and rear, this translates to more an an inch of additional space in the cabin, Honda reports. The 0 Series vehicles will be available in either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

Combining radiant cabin heat with an efficient heat pump lets the Honda 0 Series car shave 13 percent from the normal power consumption of heaters in chilly weather, contributing to the car’s cold-weather driving range.

Honda hasn’t revealed any details about the battery cells it will use in the 0 Series cars will deliver long life, the company promises. The target is a paltry 10 percent loss of battery capacity after ten years on the road.

“For us, the Honda 0 Series is our first global EV series,” said Honda President Toshihiro Mibe. “The Honda 0 Series will further advance our goals of zero environmental impact and zero traffic fatalities, which I have set since becoming company president. I feel both pressure and satisfaction in facing such a major change, and I hope we will deliver new value to out customers by further evolving the joy of freedom of movement, a core Honda value.”