Future models in Honda’s 0 Series electric car line-up will all receive distinctive styling, although with a shared focus on bold and simple design language.
The first two models in the range of seven EVs due to be launched between now and 2030 were previewed with the 0 SUV and 0 Saloon prototypes shown at this year’s CES tech event.
Those two models share some key design philosophies, including simple, bold bodywork and a focus on interior space, but unlike many car families have markedly different treatment in overall proportions and key styling elements such as the front end and lighting.
Toshinobu Minami, head of Honda’s design centre, said that the focus on both initial 0 Series models was to “give them strong characteristics”, because “in a world with a lot of new players such as start-ups and tech firms now building EVs, the electric vehicle could become a bit of a commodity. But these are very different and we wanted to give them a distinct character.”
He added that “we wanted distinctive design to be a pillar of the 0 Series models”.
Minami said that the 0 SUV, which will be the first model to go on sale, was “very close” to production, adding that the bolder Saloon needed “a bit of treatment, but the size and shape will remain the same”.
Minami said that “trying to make the design as pure as possible” will be a pillar of the 0 Series line-up, but added: “We will try to unify the design, but they will not be exactly the same aside from size.
“These are not cars where there will be one simple design; different cars will be like parent and child. We’ll have a wide spread of a line-up, with more variety than you’d be used to from a European premium brand.”
