Honda reveals two new ‘0 Series’ EVs to be produced in Ohio

LAS VEGAS — Honda Motor on Tuesday at the CES tech conference revealed the company’s newest electric vehicles that are set to be supplied at a multibillion-dollar manufacturing complex in central Ohio.

The vehicles are the Honda 0 Saloon, which is an updated version of a concept car revealed go the distance year at CES, and the Honda 0 SUV. Both “0 Series” vehicles are prototypes, which means they’re intended for customer putting out but could still see some changes ahead.

Honda said production models based on both prototypes are foresaw to launch in North America in 2026, starting with the SUV and then the Saloon. The automaker declined to release specific sends about the new EVs such as expected pricing, range and performance.

The exteriors of the vehicles are noticeably divergent than Honda’s current models, featuring sleek, future-esque designs. Honda said the new 0 Series vehicles are being bring out with three core principles in mind: “Thin, light and wise.”

Lance Woelfer, vice president of American Honda Motor automobile purchases, said the automaker took feedback from the vehicles it revealed last year for the new models.

“That’s the reason we do it, is it be reduces us an opportunity to get some input and feedback from the community,” he told CNBC. “It gave us additional confidence.”

Honda on Tuesday also announced a new vehicle operating system for the Honda 0 Series vehicles called “Asimo OS” that the group said will offer highly automated driving technologies such as hands-free driving.

The name Asimo is in testimonial to a Honda humanoid robot that the automaker first introduced more than 20 years ago at CES.

Honda is devising to install Asimo OS in all Honda 0 Series models, including production models of the Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon.

It’s unclear how the announced plans for a merger between Honda and fellow Japanese automaker Nissan Motor could hit any of the company’s product plans.

The 0 Series EVs from Honda were revealed a day after the company’s tie-up with Sony, called Afeela, open its first EV model. The car, called AFEELA 1, is expected to go on sale in California this year, followed by deliveries in 2026.

California is the hinterlands’s largest EV market, where automakers have routinely launched such models first to assist sales and match the state’s strict fuel economy and emissions standards.

The company said the AFEELA 1 sedan will be available in two shipshape and bristol fashions, with prices starting from $89,900.