The all-new premium electric sedan is in the works, but coming soon, as are innovative and cost-saving production techniques
What is the Honda 0 Series sedan?
It will be built on an all-new EV platform with a surprisingly thin battery pack and a compact e-axle, featuring a combination of a motor and inverter designed from expertise Honda engineers gleaned from the development of hybrid-electric vehicles. Notable is the size of the inverter, which according to Honda is 40% smaller than previously used ones. And that battery pack is six per cent thinner thanks to megacasting and 3D friction stir welding (two of those aforementioned manufacturing techniques and which we’ll get into a little later here).
A final note on that battery: Honda engineers are targeting battery degradation to just 10% after 10 years, achievable, they contend, by applying degradation diagnosis and prediction technology that utilizes driving data from five million Honda vehicles, most of those hybrids.
Honda’s design ethos for 0 Series is “thin, light, and wise,” so the sedan will be built close to the ground with short overhangs for maximum aerodynamics and drivability; it will also be 100 kilograms (220 lbs) lighter than Honda’s initial EVs, thanks to a simplified body structure; and will come with a host of so-called ‘intelligent technologies’ to make the 0 Series sedan a software-defined vehicle, or SDV.
The backbone of this system will be an operating system (OS) designed in-house, and featuring the continuous addition and upgrade of vehicle functions through OTA (over-the-air) updates. What we don’t know yet is the battery size(s) to be offered in the 0 Series sedan, but Honda engineers did cite an expected full-charge range in the 480-km (300-mile) neighbourhood.
One caution: as much as we’d like to see – and almost expect – Honda to come out with a well-priced (read: relatively inexpensive) electric vehicle, don’t expect the 0 Series sedan to be a “Civic-like” EV. This will be a premium vehicle with a possibly — probably — six-figure price tag, and a very-low-production-volume run.
Manufacturing processes for the electric age
We often cite battery technology and software management systems as the main areas of innovation and advancement in the emerging electric-vehicle segment, but Honda is making a determined effort to bring how it builds electric vehicles into that conversation. And in so doing, saving money.
During our two-day tour, called ‘Honda 0 Tech MTG 2024,’ a highlight was an hour spent deep in the heart of Honda’s R&D manufacturing facility in the industrial city of Tochigi. Here we learned about a trio of production technologies that Honda has pioneered that will be integral to the production of its new EVs, beginning very soon at its existing facility in Ohio; and in two years’ time in Ontario.
The factory tour showcased innovative and all-new production techniques the automaker has developed to make EV production faster, more efficient, and, most importantly, less expensive
First and foremost was a massive machine called a megacaster, which takes liquid aluminum and casts it into Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) cases, also known as battery cases. The 6,000-ton machine uses high pressure to make high-precision cases that have just five parts, compared to the 60 used in the current generation of battery cases.
Furthermore, due to the unique production process, a variety of IPU sizes can be produced much more efficiently that current systems. Honda plans to apply this megacasting concept to producing large aluminum body-frame parts, which, like the battery case process, will save time and money. Six of these mega-machines are planned for Honda EV Hub Ohio, where an all-new Acura EV will be built beginning in late 2025; and one would expect similar machines destined for one of the Ontario facilities.
One of the big challenges when designing an electric vehicle is ensuring the battery case is suitably protected during a crash, particularly a side impact. The simple solution would be to use more high-strength steel in the A-, B-, and C- pillars, but that adds weight, which is a range-killer.
To address this conundrum, Honda engineers have developed a world first: a CDC joining technology that uses alternating current (AC) rather than the traditional direct current (DC) and allows for a reduction in body-frame weight without compromising the strength of the material. Think of it as a space-age riveter. And in the never-ending quest to keep costs down, the AC guns used to do this work weigh about the same as the DC welding guns, meaning the existing robots that do this work will not need to be replaced or redesigned.
And finally, this one is for all those flow-chart fiends out there. Using Artificial Intelligence, Honda has created a battery-cell assembly line that maximizes efficiency and accounts and adapts for station downtime by building in redundant systems. According to Honda, this will enable flexible adjustments to changes in production models and fluctuations in production volume. Translation: very little downtime when changing battery cell composition. In addition to AI, key to the system are automated guided vehicles (AGVs), essentially autonomous delivery carts.
Driving impressions of the 0 Series EV architecture
In a word, the driving impressions were somewhat underwhelming. Yes, the Accord mule I drove with a hint of anger around Honda’s test track accelerated quickly; felt confident under hard braking; and danced through the S-turns, but I’ve become quite used to all that in even your most garden-variety EV. To be fair, the vehicle felt very planted, and in the high-speed corners and tight hairpins there was very little body roll, testimony to that all-new EV architecture and low-slung battery.
It was not equipped with the steer-by-wire system planned for the 0 Series sedan, so the steering inputs I experienced, while impressive, aren’t relevant to the upcoming production EV.
Anyway, Honda engineers showed off a sound system that allows Honda e drivers to select a specific Honda vehicle, including the HondaJet, and then have their car mimic that vehicle’s engine sound during driving. In addition, the Honda e’s dashboard display will change to the corresponding vehicle’s display.
Final Thoughts
With that relationship behind them, at least in terms of EV collaboration, Honda has clearly set course on its own journey down the electric vehicle highway, bringing its long-standing traditions of invention and innovation to this new and evolving world of mobility. And one that will see Canada play a very important role.
One of the stops on our Japanese itinerary was to the Honda Collection in Motegi, a must-see exhibition hall showcasing the history and vehicles that make this company so important not only to Japan, but to the entire world. What struck me was that in fewer than seven decades, Honda went from building a simple, gas-engine powered bicycle; to developing and building the world’s most advanced light jet, the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, of which 230 are in use, most of them in North America. It’s an amazing story arc for a company, and one that is still being written with an entirely new chapter of electrification unfolding.
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