Honda has announced that it is cancelling the development and market launch of its 0 Series electric vehicle models, the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, just months before production for them was set to begin in the United States. The Japanese automaker also announced that the US-market Acura RSX had been canned.
The company said the decision to pull the plug on the EVs was made as part of the reassessment of its automobile electrification strategy, brought about by a combination of fast moving changes in the business environment and an “extremely challenging earnings situation,” in which it expects to record losses in its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2026.
Given that, the automaker said it determined that starting production and sales of these three models in the current business environment would likely result in further losses over the long term, and so the decision was made to cancel their introduction.
The two 0 Series models, which remained in focus as recently as late last year when they were shown alongside the 0 α (Alpha) EV that made its global debut at the Japan Mobility Show 2025, were part of the seven models in the series that were planned for introduction by 2030. It is not known if the development of the smaller Alpha, aimed at global markets, will proceed as planned.
Explaining the decision, the automaker said that with stringent environmental regulations fully implemented in the US and other countries, it had been pursuing EV adoption with a strong determination, but a revision in policies, including the easing of fossil fuel regulations and revisions to EV incentives in the US, had changed that outlook.
It added that a decline in the competitiveness of Honda products in Asia, largely impacted by the allocation of more resources previously to EV development, had not helped. This has been amplified by a shift in consumer demand in places such as China, where values had moved from hardware-based features such as fuel efficiency and cabin space to “software-based features that will continuously advance according to customer preferences.”
The company said that, faced with newer EV manufacturers that can leverage their short product development cycles and strengths in the area of software-defined vehicle (SDV) technologies, it was “unable to deliver products that offer value for money better than that of newer EV manufacturers, resulting in a decline in competitivenes.”
In light of all this, Honda said it will reassess its resource allocations and further strengthen its hybrid portfolio, an alignment that was indicated last year by its president and representative executive officer Toshihiro Mibe. As for its regional business, in addition to its main markets (namely Japan and the US), the company said it will enhance the model lineup and cost competitiveness in India, where market expansion is expected.
In Asia, there will be a stronger push made with the introduction of next-generation hybrid models. The company said it will announce details of the reestablishment of its mid- to long-term strategy for its automobile business sometime in May.
GALLERY: Honda 0 Saloon prototype at Japan Mobility Show 2025
GALLERY: Honda 0 SUV prototype at Japan Mobility Show 2025
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Everyday concept but never materialize. When production starts cars looks totaly different. Learn from China lah. When china reveals a prototype, next month or so they start selling the exact same car or better. Ini baru dikatakan effisyen
Nail in the coffin for honda, die imperialis car hidup prc cars
because prc are hardworking , no WFH or random declare holidays , unlike malaysia
So it was just blowing hot air at the Tokyo Motorshow…