Honda 0 Series: Electric wagon previewed for 2026 launch

While rival brands have launched or previewed a full sweep of electric offerings, Honda has this week confirmed its Europe-only E hatch and North America-only Prologue SUV electric models will be joined by at least one more new EV – in a couple of years.

(Honda also has its Sony-partnered Afeela models coming, but it’s difficult to say whether these will ever come to Australia.)

Unveiling a pair of new concepts under the ‘0 Series’ (zero series) banner at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Honda said one of them – the sleek ‘Saloon’ – will inform the look of a new production EV coming in 2026. The other, dubbed Space-Hub, currently has no production schedule.

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Saloon

I can’t help but think of this as an Odyssey (’Odysse-E’ perhaps?) so, I confess I’m inclined to look at it as more of a wagon than a saloon.

Honda says this is the flagship of the concept pair, and for now it remains largely a design exercise. There are no technical details offered for the concept today, except that future buyers can expect “advancements of new steer-by-wire and motion control management systems”.

Although it has not detailed battery capacity or design, Honda says its 0 models will fast-charge from 15 to 80% in 10 to 15 minutes. Depending on the battery size, that’s either a respectable advancement or about par with the best of 2023 (mostly Hyundai and Kia EVs).

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One promising goal, albeit one shared with other brands, is that Honda aims to minimise the degradation of battery capacity to less than 10% after 10 years of use.

Whether the 2026 production model will look anything at all like the 0 Series Saloon remains to be seen. It’s certainly achievable, and the E hatch shows Honda can stay relatively loyal to its concept designs. (Although the Honda Urban concept looked so much better than the E.)

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Space-Hub

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There’s even less to say about this van-like concept…

Honda couldn’t bring itself to offer more than a paragraph on the Space-Hub concept’s purpose, except to say what all brands say of their van-inspired EV concepts: “the Space-Hub offers a flexible space that immediately accommodates a variety of passengers and becomes a ‘hub’ that connects people to each other and the outside world.”

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‘New’ Honda H mark

All future Honda EVs will wear a new retro-inspired version of the familiar and iconic H mark, doing away with the prominent frame that has surrounded the H since 1981.

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In its new form, the H mark harks back to the earliest design that debuted in 1961.

That version did have a frame, although it was more of a canvas or patch, styled in the red that features exclusively on Type R models.

This will join the new logotype that debuted on the E hatch, styled in a modern title-case design rather than the all-caps 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀 serif font that has graced the carmaker’s branding for decades. This new logotype also features on the Prologue SUV.