Honda’s late-to-the-party sprint toward full electrification is starting to look like a desperate scramble for the nearest emergency exit. After years of promising us a silent, spark-filled future, the Japanese giant is officially hitting the brakes on its ambitious “0 Series” dreams.
The 0 Sedan, the 0 SUV, and even the resurrected Acura RSX project have been tossed into the scrap heap of corporate history faster than a first-gen Insight. Even the Sony-backed Afeela project, a collaboration that always sounded more like a tech-bro fever dream than a viable automotive brand, has been left on read.
Instead of chasing Tesla’s tail, Honda is crawling back to its first true love: the hybrid. During a recent business briefing, the company paraded a new wedge-shaped sedan and an Acura SUV. These prototypes, sporting the telltale orange side markers that confirm their inevitable American destiny, are the vanguards of a massive 15-model hybrid offensive aimed at 2030. It’s a classic corporate U-turn, executed with the kind of calculated precision usually reserved for a Type R clipping an apex.
The real star of this tactical retreat is a new hybrid powertrain that Honda boldly claims will be the “world’s most efficient” by 2027. We are looking at a 10% jump in efficiency over the current 2023 tech, which is impressive on paper, though one might wonder why they didn’t lead with this before burning billions on electric platforms that will never see a showroom floor.
This upcoming platform is currently being slimmed down by engineers who are obsessed with weight reduction and cost-cutting, expect production expenses to drop by more than 30%.
While Honda is still keeping about $5 billion tucked away for “measured” EV development, the message is clear. The immediate future is internal combustion with a battery-powered safety net. By the time these models reach dealers in 2028, Honda hopes to have recovered the staggering losses from its canceled electric dalliances.
