Honda unveiled its new, U.S.-bound 0 Series concept EVs at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show this week. Both the SUV and Saloon prototypes are radical departures from Honda’s current design language, which will likely be shocking to a U.S. audience used to more traditional designs like in the current Civic and CR-V. Honda has never really brought its more radical designs stateside, instead saving them for Japan.
In a conversation with The Drive, Toshinobu Minami, Managing Director and COO of Design Center at Honda R&D, tells us that now is the right time and these are the right designs to come to the U. S.
“[Honda models in] the U.S. market have probably not been too radical, but in the past, in Japan, we’ve made some radical designs. They’ve also failed a lot, but this time, we’ve decided on a solid approach—Thin, Light and Wise—especially the exterior,” Minami told TheDrive during a CES roundtable discussion.
“I think it’s the exterior you were referring to earlier. We wanted to thoroughly express the thinness, and also include the ADAS and other functions. The exterior is not just to make you say ‘wow!’ Aerodynamics [and] the ADAS are simply expressed in a form that has been enhanced to the ultimate level, the latest technologies. In that sense, I think the dynamic success creates a very unique originality.”
Customers are going to say “Wow,” alright. For the record, I really like the design. I think both cars look great in their own ways. I’m getting a little ’70s Giugiaro in the wedgy Saloon, almost like a modern Maserati Boomerang. The SUV looks neat, too, with oddly tall rear proportions and a cool greenhouse effect. I’d never consider either particularly pretty but they’re bold, interesting, and unique, which I applaud Honda for.
Honda says that both designs are nearly production-ready and they’re going to challenge customers’s ideas of what a Honda is when they finally go on sale. But it seems like Minami wants to challenge customers and create Hondas that future generations will want to own.
“I’d like to create a new brand that preserves the desire to own a car, that makes people happy every time they have one,” he added. “This brand 0 is going to be an upgraded version of Honda in the U.S. We wanted to make a design that can resonate with the next generation of customers, Generation Z, and other such customers. However, I think the answer will come out when we release it to the public, so it’s a battle.”
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