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Title: Honda shows off three new EVs in Tokyo, but its US plans are getting
more tepid

Link: https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/h...

Every two years, the Japan Mobility Show gives us a preview of the future of
motoring as envisioned by the major Japanese manufacturers. Sadly, for Honda,
the resounding message coming from this year's show was that the future is
getting a little farther away. That's the case for American drivers, at
least, thanks largely to the effects of the Trump administration according to
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe.

In Tokyo this year, the company unveiled a trio of cool, next-gen electric
vehicles at the show, each more compelling than the next. First up is the new
0 Series ╬▒, a new addition to the 0 Series of EVs that Honda has been
teasing us with for a few years now.

Back in January at CES, the company showed off the evocatively styled 0
Saloon and 0 SUV. Both made quite a stir, particularly the former, which was
impossible to admire without picking up strong Lamborghini vibes. Mibe
confirmed that those cars are still on track, coming towards the end of 2026
or 2027. However, expected sales have been reduced.

Mibe didn't give specifics there, only saying: "The volume initially will
probably be less than we had envisioned earlier."

Honda 0 Series ╬▒ EV looks similar to the SUV prototype from CES 2025Honda

The newly unveiled 0 Series ╬▒ is a new, third member of Honda's nascent next-
gen EV family. It looks nigh identical to the SUV concept, but in reality,
it's significantly smaller. It will be cheaper, too, enabling it to target
the Indian market. It has a hope of going elsewhere in the world, including
Japan and Europe, but Honda representatives said repeatedly that it's not for
the American market. Mibe said it's "probably too small" for the US market.

So, too, the Super-One Prototype. This tiny hatchback made a run up the hill
at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year, wrapped in camouflage to
hide its decidedly angular profile. In Tokyo, Honda stripped off the
graphics, revealing a cheeky mini-sized machine with big box fenders and
endless personality. While Honda didn't quote a power output, it surely
wonΓÇÖt be a rocket ship, but with the instant torque of an EV, plus a
variety of selectable synthesized engine notes, it should still be a mighty
good time.

Indeed, it was. I got a brief go behind the wheel of a prototype machine at
Honda's proving grounds in Tochigi, Japan. Though it wasn't much for outright
speed, the brisk acceleration combined with petite dimensions made me grin
ear-to-ear. Sadly, though, that's probably the only chance I'll ever get to
drive one. The Super-One is intended for drivers in Japan and the United
Kingdom, with potential expansion elsewhere in Europe based on demand.

Driving the Honda Super-One on a test track near Tochigi, JapanTim Stevens
for Engadget

America has never been a great market for machines of that size, so it
shouldn't be a surprise that these two aren't US-bound, but it is part of a
more troubling trend. Honda has largely paused its efforts to develop low-
cost EVs for the American market, waiting for political headwinds to come
around.

"With the Trump administration in place, we have a sense that maybe the EV
growth has been moved back out by maybe five years or so into the future. So,
the timing for doing anything will be difficult," he said. "2030, at that
point in time, maybe we need to provide a wide, broad product range,
including EVs. So, we will have to think about future strategy for the US
market."

Tellingly, Mibe said that they're actively watching American mid-term
elections, to see whether there's any hope of the political climate changing
in the future.

Just like in discount furniture stores, volume is the real factor here,
particularly when it comes to battery production. The company's partnership
with General Motors was an attempt to do just that.

Honda's Super-One prototype isn't much for speed, but that's okayTim Stevens
for Engadget

"Our first objective in collaborating with GM was to expand the volume to
reduce the cost," he said. "I believe the aim there, from on the side of GM,
was the same."

That partnership, however, was aborted after just the Honda Prologue and
Acura ZDX reached the market, leaving Honda to go its own way for now, at
least, bereft of a partner to boost its battery volume.

This could complicate Honda's plans to be totally carbon neutral by 2050, a
pledge that Mibe said is still very much in the cards. To start in that
direction, the company will push more towards advanced hybrids of the sort
we'll get our first taste of starting next year. (I also got to sample that
while I was out there, which you can read about here.)

However, while these new hybrids will decrease consumption and further reduce
the carbon footprint of a given car, they will not completely eliminate it.
So, Honda is working on other means of decreasing the company's effective
carbon footprint, including direct air capture (DAC), devices which can suck
carbon dioxide straight out of the air ΓÇö a long-time environmental dream
that's always seemed just a few years away.

So small, cheap EVs aren't in the plans for the immediate future, but Honda
isn't totally giving up on its US EV aspirations. Again, the 0 Series SUV and
Saloon are due next year. Mibe said there's another, even larger EV due for
the American market sometime after 2030, but that too could depend on which
way the American government swings between now and then.

Honda's EV Outlier is an electric motorcycle concept with sci-fi looksHonda

If all's looking well, we might eventually get a taste of another electric
concept that Honda rolled out at the show. Called the EV Outlier, it's an
electric motorcycle with a lean, sharp style and a laid-back riding position
that is hard not to read as at least partially inspired by that most iconic
sci-fi motorcycle of all time: Kaneda's bike in Akira.

This one isn't red and it lacks the distinctive stickers, but like Kaneda's
bike, both wheels are driven by electricity. It relies on a pair of
integrated hub motors to provide the thrust, and if the width of the rear
tire is any indication, there'll be plenty of that.

A sweeping, free-standing digital display serves as the dashboard, and
controls are minimalist in a way that only a concept bike can be. Honda said
this might be ready for production by 2030, but the svelte packaging here may
necessitate next-generation, solid-state batteries to make that a reality.

Those batteries, Mibe said, are still progressing. Honda has a prototype
production line in process, so they're actually building the things and
trying to turn them into viable products.

But that's only if Honda can overcome some significant engineering challenges
between now and then, and if the US government dials back on the EV hate by
the end of the decade. Those are two pretty big ifs, and I confess I'm not
sure which poses the biggest challenge.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/h...
tokyo-but-its-us-plans-are-getting-more-tepid-150000775.html?src=rss

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