Honda Press Conference Remarks: CES 2025

Katsushi Inoue, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Electrification Business Development Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Hello, everyone, and welcome. This is the prototype of the new flagship model of our 0 Series, the Honda 0 SALOON. We are very excited to bring this model to market in 2026.

When we unveiled the Honda 0 Series, we introduced our development approach of “Thin, Light, and Wise.” This year, we have made this approach the theme of our presentation.

With automakers competing on the value offered as Software Defined Vehicles, why are we describing our 0 Series as “wise,” instead of “smart”? It is to emphasize a new level of intelligent vehicle technology.

The Honda approach to the art of making things has always been human-centric. The same is true with the 0 Series. Our EVs will offer “ultra-personal optimization” by thinking completely about the customer, and optimizing all details including precise control settings for vehicle dynamics.

Like a smartphone, various functions of 0 Series models will continue to advance even after the purchase. The more it is used, the more personalized it will become.

An all-new vehicle Operating System will be at the core of the vehicle, and its name is ASIMO OS.

You remember ASIMO. It made its CES debut here 20 years ago. ASIMO was loved by people all over the world and became an icon in the field of robotics. ASIMO moved while recognizing its external environment and understanding the intentions of people around it. This unique value of ASIMO has been further advanced and applied to the 0 Series.

As with ASIMO, our ambition is for the 0 Series to surprise and inspire people all around the world, becoming an iconic series that represents a new era of EVs.

To share details of the value the 0 Series will offer, from our Automotive Development Center in Ohio, please welcome Mr. Steve Frey.

Steve Frey, Vice President, Development Operations, North American Automotive Development Center, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America

Thank you, Inoue-san. I’m going to share a look at the world we will bring about with the ASIMO OS and the advancement of AI technologies.

In 2021, Honda became the first company in the world to achieve practical use of Level 3 driving automation in a retail vehicle, enabling “eyes-off” driving under certain conditions.

Putting Eyes Off to practical use was a big challenge to prove that our AD is actually safer than driving by a human driver. In addition to reducing the number of traffic collisions, AD vehicles must completely eliminate traffic accidents that people think a “human driver could avoid.” That is why only Level 3 and above are defined as AD.

We believe that the key to realizing zero traffic collision fatalities is the reliability of eyes-off technology. We have established the technology. And now, we must quicky expand its application globally. To do so, we need AI that can recognize and understand its surroundings on its own, in each region which has its own unique traffic conditions.

Now let me introduce the deep teaching technology of our partner, Helm.ai. Human drivers are not looking only at the white lines and other markings on the road. We recognize the shape of the road by looking at the surrounding buildings and roadside trees, even how much of the sky we can see.

However, since there are countless patterns of things around the vehicle, other than the road, it is impossible for the system to learn everything. So, there are countless varieties of trees, and many of them change color and shape with the seasons. But by recognizing all of them more abstractly as “roadside trees,” the system can estimate its surroundings just like a human driver. With that, AD becomes possible on a road where your vehicle has never been before and even if the white lines aren’t visible.

For the 0 Series, we will combine the wisdom of Helm.ai with our own technology. In addition to eyes-off technology, for the AD in our 0 Series models, we will apply cooperative AI we developed through our research into people and mobility to further improve the precision of cooperative behavior, like yielding the right of way to others on the road, which is difficult even for a human driver.

From here, let’s look at some specific situations. In any major city, it’s common to see a car suddenly cut into your lane.

Our AD was developed for every possible event to make it usable in traffic environments where “anything can happen.” So, 0 Series models will feature AD that ensures peace of mind for the driver in those situations where even an experienced driver might have concerns.

Consider automated driving on a busy road with many lanes and cars as well as motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Using a variety of sensors, the 0 Series model detects its surroundings and turns left while avoiding motorcycles and bicycles coming into the lane, while also detecting pedestrians and continuing to drive smoothly.

Even at such a complex intersection, occupants in the 0 Series model can enjoy pleasant conversation. And unexpected dangers, such as another vehicle cutting into the lane, will be avoided through automated braking.

The vehicle also has clear recognition of a construction site blocking the lane ahead. It automatically turns the steering wheel to the left before it happens. The strength of our technology is that it can respond appropriately to irregular situations.

Moreover, AD must ensure not only the occupants’ peace of mind, but their comfort. The 0 Series models will offer high-quality AD even while driving on highways. Our AD is supported by Honda vehicle dynamics technology.

Even when traffic jams occur due to merging on the highway, the behavior control allows lane changes to be made smoothly. Even if a piece of a burst tire is on the road, the system will detect and avoid it. When the vehicle takes emergency evasive action, the occupants inside feel safe and very comfortable.

Here, the vehicle is accelerating while changing lanes to overtake the car in front of you. And makes more lane changes and handles frequent and complex junctions. The ASIMO OS and AI enable the vehicle to have a comprehensive understanding of the environment inside and outside the vehicle. So, it can respond appropriately when it needs to make sudden stops or lane changes due to falling objects, such as that piece of tire in the road, or an animal darting into the lane.

Up to now, humans have been in charge of driving. But now, if the vehicle is in charge of driving, people can perform a “second task” while in route to their destination, whether watching a movie or joining a remote meeting. The difference of Level 2 and Level 3 AD exists here, too. Honda will expand the application of eyes-off functions to all driving situations and open up new possibilities for mobility. The 0 Series will also change the value of EVs as a space for people.

0 Series models we launch in the late 2020s will be equipped with AI and ECUs that will be advanced into a centralized type that bundles various domains such as: personal authentication, emotion and intention estimation, and scene understanding, which will enable the vehicle to offer cross-domain and personalized value.

The system will utilize data from cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle to understand the traffic/mobility situation in real time. This will allow the vehicle to proactively harmonize the cabin and adjust dynamic controls to realize occupant comfort. The 0 Series model will always create value that makes driving more enjoyable and comfortable. The more you drive, the more you will love and trust it and the more you will view it as your partner.

Now, to realize this kind of advanced “Wise” value, it’s essential to have a state-of-the-art SoC, one that is not only high performance, but capable of 100% fulfillment of 0 Series potential. To realize such SoC, Honda has established a joint development agreement with Renesas, which we consider to be the best partner in the area of automotive semiconductors.

Renesas and Honda collaborated when we put Level 3 driving automation into practical use. Now, we’re really pleased to strengthen our partnership. So, from Renesas Electronics, please welcome Mr. Vivek Bhan.

Vivek Bhan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of High Performance Computing Renesas Electronics Corporation and Jay Joseph, Vice President of Sustainability and Business Development, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Hello, Steve. Congratulations on your latest announcement about the 0 Series! We are excited to grow our relationship and to be part of this incredible Honda 0 Series.

Steve Frey

Thank you for joining us, Vivek. With the 0 Series we’re trying to change the concept of mobility. But to do that, and to realize AD and new value as a “space” for people, we will need SoC that is capable of processing enormous amounts of data with low power consumption. By 2030, AI performance requirements for SDVs will be 500 times higher than today.

Vivek Bhan

That’s right. The more sophisticated AD functions become, the more enormous AI processing performance will be required. And at the same time, we must take on the challenge of minimizing SoC power consumption.

Steve Frey

The reality is that a general-purpose SoC can’t unlock the full potential of AI software for the 0 Series. But if we design a dedicated SoC, we can maximize both computing performance and power-saving performance. And that is the significance of our collaboration.

Vivek Bhan

Renesas has applied chiplet technology to its recently announced R-Car SoC for automotive applications. This technology enables customization to augment AI performance by adding an AI accelerator based on the Renesas SoC. This latest SoC will be able to significantly reduce power consumption by applying 3nm technology, the most advanced process for automotive semiconductors from TSMC.

We have discussed and agreed with Honda that, for the next-generation 0 Series SoC coming in the late 2020s, we will target the world’s top-class 2000 TOPS level AI processing performance and 20 TOPS/W power efficiency.

Steve Frey

If we can realize the full potential of this ultra-high-performance SoC, we can run AD, dynamics, energy management and more on a single chip. This will make the Honda 0 Series even more attractive for our customers.

Vivek Bhan

We’re eager to understand the requirements for SDVs and bring high-performance SoCs to market. So, I can’t tell you how excited we are to work with Honda and take on this challenge for the future of mobility.

Steve Frey

Thank you very much, Vivek.  Based on this collaboration, I’m confident we will establish the solid foundation to deliver “Wise” features in the 0 Series. And thank you, everyone! Please keep your expectations high!

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce our vice president of Sustainability and Business Development, Jay Joseph.

Jay Joseph , Vice President of Sustainability and Business Development, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Thanks Steve. Hello, everyone. Our direction for electrification at Honda is to offer the joy and freedom of mobility with zero environmental impact.

When we drive an EV today, it may be difficult to find a charging station nearby, or it may not be in working order when we get there, or the station is too crowded. It’s unfortunate, but it happens too often.

We are striving to realize a society where 0 Series users will never have trouble recharging their vehicles. In North America, we established a joint venture with seven other automakers to create a charging network called IONNA. IONNA aims to include at least 30,000 high-quality charge points by 2030.

Thanks to its J3400 or NACS connector every 0 Series model is compatible with the Super Charger Network. So, Honda 0 Series owners will have access to more than 100,000 public fast-charging stations by 2030.

We are also considering a new charging route service that leverages this broad charging network to provide an optimal charging experience for each individual.

By incorporating AWS generative AI and related technologies into Honda intelligent technology, and analyzing data obtained from the Honda 0 Series and the extensive charging network, we will provide a personalized charging experience for each individual in terms of finding charging facilities and simplifying payment. Please look forward to our delivery of this advanced service concept, as well.

For home charging, which we expect to account for about 80% of all EV charging, Honda will provide an entirely new energy service through the development of bi-directional technology with Emporia. This also will deliver cheaper, smarter charging to our customers through ChargeScape, a software JV we established with BMW and Ford.

Through these efforts the collective fleet of 0 Series models will also serve as a virtual power plant (VPP) and execute a personalized charging plan for each user.

A 0 Series model will reduce the customer’s electricity bill by selecting a charging time,
such as during the night when electricity costs are low, or during the daytime when renewable energy can be utilized. It will also discharge electricity for customer use when electricity prices are high, that’s going beyond V1G.

Through advanced battery chemistries, and by applying battery management technologies Honda has amassed over many years through the development of our hybrid-electric vehicles, we can minimize the risk of battery degradation.

Honda will accelerate the development and offering of such energy technologies and services in conjunction with the launch of the 0 Series models.

Lastly, many of you have been waiting patiently for the other new Honda 0 Series model to fill this space on the right. For that, please join me in welcoming back, Mr. Inoue.

Katsushi Inoue, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Honda Motor Co., Ltd

We have introduced the “Wise” value of our 0 Series from the perspectives of the product itself and its impact on people’s daily lives. Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce what will become the first model of the Honda 0 Series.

This is the Honda 0 SUV!! It is the prototype for the first model of the Honda 0 Series, that will be built and will be launched globally, starting here in North America in the first half of next year.

By applying the “Thin, Light, and Wise” approach to this model, we have further increased the interior space of the cabin, achieved an outstandingly clear and unrestricted field of view, and provided great flexibility for the seating position for each occupant. We will deliver both of these models to our customers during 2026.

With the 0 Series, and the “Wise” approach we introduced today, we will create new value to excite our customers, ensuring they enjoy mobility more than ever before.

We hope you like the Honda 0 Series and enjoy your time at CES 2025. Thank you for joining us today.

Read more at Hondanews.com

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