Author: EVAI

Rolls-Royce is making its biggest investment in its plant since the site’s opening in 2003 The investment is to support personalization services as well as EV production Rolls-Royce plans to unveil its second EV in 2025 Rolls-Royce is about to make the biggest investment in its plant since the site’s opening in 2003, but the investment isn’t aimed…

• The 0 Saloon and 0 SUV will enter production in Ohio starting in 2026. 
• It’s not clear if the 0 Saloon or 0 SUV will remain the production names for these vehicles. 
• Honda executives were clear that these designs are close to the production versions of these vehicles. 

I didn’t think Honda had it in them. I remain skeptical that the brand’s EV efforts, and tech promises that that 0 Series SUV and Saloon will “bond” with their drivers and become best friends via AI is a real or desirable piece of kit. Yet, I have to admit – the Honda 0 Saloon is one slick-looking car. When the car was revealed at CES, it took all of five seconds for people to make the connection between Honda, and Lamborghini. According to Honda’s designers and executives, the 0 Saloon and its sister model, the 0 SUV aren’t just a pipe dream—the production models will likely look pretty close to what we see here. 

Now, when Honda showed off the original 0 Saloon concept at last year’s CES while announcing the intent to produce it, most of us took Honda’s comments as pure vaporware, a sign of a brand completely unserious about electric cars. The two-door, gullwing ultra-low coupe looked pretty far from what could feasibly be placed on roads; it had no side impact beams, the yoke-style screen had zero bezels or buttons and the seats had no padding. The roofline was disconcertingly low and likely would never accommodate the headroom of real adults. 

Nevertheless, the brand persisted. This year, it showed off an updated version of the striking-looking concept car from 2024. The gullwing doors were replaced with four conventional forward-hinged ones, and the headlights went from the base of the windshield to pseudo-pop-up ones that feel straight out of the sketchbook of an Italdesign employee working on a Lamborghini account circa 2001. The car is refreshingly long and skinny, refreshing in the age of the too-tall electrified crossover blob. There’s a reason for that, according to Toshinobu Minami, the Managing Director and COO of the Design Center at Honda R&D. For them, they really wanted the “thin, light, and wise” ethos to shine through with Honda’s first 0 Series models. 

“In Japan, we’ve done things very challenging—we have had some failures. But we wanted to determine our concept thin/light/wise, especially exterior design,” said Minami during a Honda roundtable event during this year’s CES. Minami said that the 0 Series, in particular, was designed to channel the “thin” part of that three-word mantra. 

It may be hard to gauge in pictures, but in person, the 0 Saloon is very much, a “thin” looking car. Compared to the original concept, this version of the 0 Saloon does look visually longer, with its upturned rear and relatively large greenhouse adding to the vehicle’s perception of thinness. It’s a radical-looking car, and Honda’s executives do admit that that radicalness may be challenging to some buyers in the U.S. market. 

By comparison, the 0 SUV does look somewhat conventional. However, Minami insists it, too, was meant to convey the essence of thinness, even though it does admittedly look somewhat unrelated to the striking 0 Saloon. Minami spoke about giving the 0 SUV as much forward-looking glass and visibility as possible and emphasizing how (comparatively) thin the vehicle is compared to a traditional SUV. “When [the 0 SUV is] on the road, it will look a lot different on the roads compared to other cars,” said Minami.

The 0 Saloon and 0 SUV (along with the Sony-Honda Afeela) are planned for production at Honda’s Ohio EV hub starting in 2026. Yet, while the Afeela feels like a fairly finished (if kind of old) design, it’s not clear exactly if Honda’s giving us the runaround with just how much the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV will translate to production. For example, both vehicles have doors and full interiors, and even details like door jambs, but only the 0 SUV has cutouts for the charge door and potentially repairable bumper covers. Minami did say that part of the 0 SUV’s design decisions were to meet global regulations (including the United States), but as of right now the camera-only rearview setups on both cars aren’t legal.

Also, it’s still not entirely clear if Honda’s 0 Series will even be competitive when it is introduced. Honda has been somewhat vague about the 0 Series’s actual final technical specifications, but if it launches with the Afeela’s 91 kWh battery, roughly 300-mile range, and maximum 150 kW charging speeds, then Honda’s striking looking set of production-intent concept-like cars are dead in the water. We already know that 0 Saloon won’t be cheap. (Honda has not said how much the 0 SUV will cost, but that it will “meet market expectations.”)

Still, Honda’s design team remains optimistic. “When you go in your car, and look in your garage, you want to feel joy. I think (0 series) is going to be an upgraded version of Honda in the USA. We want to make a design that resonates with the next generation of Honda buyers,” said Minami.

The Honda 0 Saloon and 0 SUV are slated to go on sale in early 2026.

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com

What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Toyota Prius? What does it compare to? The Prius is a fuel-sipping hatchback with sleek styling. Compare it to the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid, plus myriad EVs with similar dimensions like the Nissan Leaf and Ariya. Is the 2025 Toyota Prius a good car? It is, especially now that it looks…

Donut Lab, a subsidiary of Finland-based Verge Motorcycles, claims to have a motor with the highest power density of any such unit in the world.

At CES 2025, Donut Lab announced it had achieved this feat with donut-shaped motors designed to be integrated with a vehicle’s wheels and tires. This adds unsprung mass, which can make tuning for ride and handling difficult, but Donut claims this is minimized by the light weight of its motors.

The company plans to offer a family of five motors for different designs, including a 21-inch-diameter automotive version that produces 844 hp and 3,171 pound-feet. However, it also weighs 88 pounds—still a lot of unsprung mass. For the same weight, Donut Lab also has a 21-inch motor designed for semi trucks that produces 268 hp and 2,212 lb-ft.

Donut Lab electric motors

Moving down in size, a 17-inch motorcycle motor that weighs 46 pounds produces a claimed 201 hp and 885 lb-ft. There’s also a 12-inch, 17-pound scooter motor rated at 20 hp and 221 lb-ft. Donut Lab even has a 4.7-inch motor designed for drones that generates 4 hp and 14 lb-ft.

By extracting more power from a smaller package, Donut Lab believes it can lower the cost of manufacturing electric vehicles by using less material. To make that easier, it’s offering these motors as part of a complete platform including battery packs, control units, and software—although it hasn’t confirmed how these motors stand with respect to efficiency.

In-wheel motors are not new. Porsche recently reminded us that it’s been working on them for a long time—over a century, in fact. Even Ferrari has considered a type of in-wheel motors.

Donut Lab electric motors

But attempts to commercialize in-wheel motors have been mixed. They’re currently used in at least one Chinese-market sedan, but startups Lightyear and Lordstown Motors stalled before getting them into U.S.-market production vehicles. That leaves Aptera, which had initially seen in-wheel motors as an efficiency play for its electric 3-wheeler.

When it comes to conventional motors, Lucid has the lightest in a production EV, at about 68 pounds each. That automaker’s core propulsion technology is set to be used in future Aston Martin EVs.

Thomas Built Buses manufacturers most of the yellow school buses that populate U.S. roads—and an increasing number of them are electric.

The company on Tuesday unveiled its second-generation electric school bus. Dubbed the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, it features a number of changes over the first-generation model that launched in 2017.

Key among those changes is an eAxle from Accelera, a division of diesel-engine manufacturer Cummins. Where the first-generation Jouley had a driveshaft connecting an electric motor to the axle, the eAxle arrangement packages the motor, a 2-speed gearbox, disc brakes and wheel hubs, and a rear differential in one unit.

This reduces weight and complexity, lowers maintenance costs by reducing the number of parts, and improves acceleration and torque by shortening the mechanical connection between the motor and wheels, Thomas Built claims.

Accelera eAxle for Thomas Built electric school buses

The new school bus also adopts an 800-volt electrical system from Proterra, primarily known for its electric transit buses. Thomas Built also made some changes to make maintenance easier, including a floor access panel for the high-voltage junction box, a component that previously required removing the bus’ battery packs to access. The body heating loop surge tank was also moved to the left side of the bus for easier access.

Thomas Built is already assembling a 219-inch wheelbase version that can accommodate up to 60 passengers. Other wheelbase options will be available later this year, the company said, adding that ditching driveshafts for the eAxle allows for shorter minimum wheelbases, improving maneuverability.

Electric school buses have come a long way since 2014, when the first one entered service in the U.S., with Oakland, California, boasting an all-electric fleet as of August 2024. They also got a big boost under the Biden Administration, which dedicated billions of dollars in funding for school districts to purchase them, a policy that could be reversed by the anti-EV Trump Administration.

• The Afeela 1, the EV from a joint venture between Honda and Sony, will arrive in 2026
• Base Afeela 1 EVs will cost $89,900 while the Signature trim costs $102,900
• Afeela is now taking $200 deposits, but it’ll only be available in California initially

Sony and Honda confirmed pricing for the first electric vehicle from their joint Afeela brand at this week’s CES 2025 in Las Vegas.

Now officially known as the Afeela 1, the electric hatchback will cost $89,900 in base Origin spec. A $102,900 Afeela 1 Signature grade is also available, adding 21-inch wheels and a rear-seat entertainment system. The pricier model will also arrive earlier. It’s expected to start deliveries in 2026, while buyers of the Origin will have to wait until 2027.

Afeela is now accepting reservations, requiring a $200 refundable deposit, but only in California. Another caveat is that software-enabled features such as driver assistance and voice recognition are subscription-based, and only complimentary for the first three years of ownership.

Afeela 1

The near-production ready version shown at CES 2025 looks similar to the prototype shown in 2024, with some changes such as added cameras at the front corners of the roof. They’re part of an array of 40 sensors aimed at enabling Level 3 automation on the SAE autonomy scale. This allows for eyes-off driving in some situations, but Afeela expects to only offer Level 2 capability initially, and will ship cars with driver-monitoring systems.

The innocuous looking hatchback measures 193.5 inches long, making it about two inches shorter than a Honda Accord, but with a wheelbase that’s almost seven inches longer. The interior features door-to-door screens and a yoke-style steering wheel to make them easier to view. Afeela also claims that 70% of the interior’s surface area is made from plant-based or recycled materials.

A sophisticated audio system leverages Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Technologies for 3D sound. This, combined with the many screens, is aimed at making the car into a mobile lounge for watching videos or using apps that Afeela is engaging with third parties to develop. And yes, you can run PlayStation video games on the dashboard screen, as well as get game-inspired wallpapers for both the interior screen and a “media bar” that takes the place of a traditional grille.

Afeela 1

A standard dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain includes one 241-hp motor per axle. Afeela said it’s aiming for 300 miles of EPA range using a 91-kwh battery pack, and will offer NACS charging from the get-go. However, the peak DC fast-charge power rate is a fairly low 150 kw. The Afeela 1 can also charge at 11 kw using a Level 2 AC charger.

Sony’s interest in building an electric car goes back to the Vision S concept presented at CES 2020. It followed that up with the Vision S-02 SUV concept before announcing its partnership with Honda in 2022. The Afeela brand was announced a few months later, at CES 2023.

The Afeela 1 will be built in Ohio, where Honda is expanding two plants to accommodate production of EVs, including its own 0 Series models also due in 2026 and future EVs for the premium Acura brand.

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The Honda 0 Saloon gets a makeover, and the 0 SUV comes onto the scene as a preview of Honda’s Ohio-made EV crossover.

Honda previewed the first two models from its 0 Series family of EVs with a pair of prototypes at CES 2025 The prototypes will spawn production models in 2026, to be built in Ohio The 0 SUV will arrive first followed by the 0 Saloon Honda’s upcoming 0 Series family of electric vehicles edged closer to production on Tuesday with the reveal during…

Honda 0 SUV arrives first in North America in early 2026 Honda 0 Saloon arrives in the later half of the year, likely as a niche flagship Production of both models begins this year in Ohio Honda showed off near-production-ready prototypes of the Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Following…