Honda's 0 Series saloon and SUV edge closer to reality with new Asimo OS

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Honda first showed off its duo of 0 Series electric cars at CES 2024, but one year later it’s back with more production-ready versions of each – and with a brand-new vehicle operating system called Asimo OS in tow.

The Honda 0 Series Saloon and Honda 0 Series SUV are due to make their global production debut sometime next year. These latest iterations are a marked step forward from the initial concepts, both in terms of looks and specification, and promise to expand on Honda’s Level 3 automated driving functionality.

While both vehicles aren’t a million miles away from their earlier incarnations, Honda’s designers have made some subtle tweaks to the designs. The 0 Series Saloon retains its quirky low-slung stance, with an interior that looks much more developed than that seen on the original concept complete with a yoke-style steering wheel.

Adding extra interest though is the inclusion of the Asimo OS, which looks set to feature a wealth of options for personalisation, allowing owners to fine-tune its performance to suit their needs. Asimo was the name of the humanoid robot that was first unveiled back in the year 2000 and, such is its endearing popularity, that Honda has retained the name for its new car operating system.

Honda engineers explained that Asimo OS will offer a wealth of advanced control options including automated driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), along with a potent new in-car infotainment system. Honda plans to keep the systems bang up to date by offering future over the air updates.

Honda has so far been less forthcoming about technical specifications for the 0 Series models. However, another Honda project car, the Afeela 1, which has been developed in a collaboration with Sony under the Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) brand is rumored to sit on the same EV platform as the 0 Series cars. The Afeela 1 has also been showcased previously at CES, most notably at the 2024 show when the car was summoned on to the stage by SHM’s Yasuhide Mizuno using voice commands.

The Afeela 1 is due to arrive in 2026 and is slated to feature a dual-motor powertrain setup with up to 482bhp on tap from the twin 241bhp electric motors at each axle. Range is expected to be up to 300 miles thanks to a 91kWh battery, which could also offer charging speeds of up to 150kW. It therefore seems entirely likely that the 0 Series range could offer much the same.