October 30, 2025 - Honda Developing Lower Cost EV For India

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for October 30, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.  

This week at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo, Honda unveiled its latest electric vehicle, the 0 Alpha. At first glance, this electric crossover looks nearly identical to the Honda 0 SUV that was first shown at the 2025 CES, but it turns out to be a very different vehicle. Toshikazu Hirose, Honda's large project leader for the 0 Alpha, provided more insights on the new model that is scheduled to debut in 2027. The 0 SUV, along with the 0 Saloon and Acura RSX, are scheduled to be produced at Honda's Marysville, Ohio assembly plant starting with the Acura in the first half of 2026, and they are targeted at the North American market. The 0 Alpha will be produced in India for that market, as well as Japan and some other Asian markets. 

Given the target audience, the 0 Alpha is aiming for a significantly lower price point. It is slightly smaller than the American model, but it has a different suspension setup with more ground clearance and compliance to better deal with the road conditions in many parts of India. While Honda has yet to reveal full specifications for its US-built EVs, it's expected to target at least 300 miles. The 0 Alpha will have a shorter range target, likely somewhere between 150 and 200 miles. Honda has yet to finalize its choice for battery chemistry between nickel manganese cobalt and lithium iron phosphate, but the latter seems likely given the cost constraints. 

The US 0 Series are designed to be software-defined vehicles with a modern zonal electronic architecture and a new software platform called Asimo OS. The 0 Alpha will retain a more traditional distributed electronic architecture, probably shared with other Honda models. According to Hirose-san, there is no intention to offer the 0 Alpha in North America, which makes sense given its strong visual resemblance to the 0 SUV. However, if new lower-cost EVs like the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, Slate, and Ford's Universal EV platform are successful with prices of $30,000 and below, it seems likely that elements of the 0 Alpha may be utilized in EVs for North America under different body styles. 

Thanks for listening.