Honda Pioneering New Manufacturing Tech for Zero Electrified Platform

Honda’s 2026 production EV will arrive with plenty of new ideas.

November 17, 2024

Abigail Bassett

A cut-away display of the Honda 0 Series EV with ADAS components. (Honda)

Honda has long been at the cutting edge of mobility and tech, with everything from the Asimo robot of 20 years ago to plans for reusable rockets to launch lightweight satellites into orbit. During a Tech Day event in early October in Tochigi, Japan, the Japanese automaker announced further details of its upcoming Honda 0 architecture (Honda calls it “Honda Zero” but writes it with the number), its first in-house electric platform designed from the ground up. Honda also discussed some of the advanced manufacturing techniques it’s pioneering to reach its core design and technology tenants.

Honda said its new Constant DC Chopping (CDC) welding technique allows the welding of thinner and thicker pieces of high-tensile steel with less splatter and better connection. (Abigail Bassett)

Smaller Axles with Plenty of Power

Honda worked with Hitachi Astemo on the new e-Axle motors that will be used in future Honda 0 platform. The inverter is located next to the motor. (Abigail Bassett)

Honda said that the company’s goal with the new 0 platform is 300 miles (483 km) of EPA range while remaining“ Thin, Light and Wise.” While executives declined to give specifics on the battery pack, charging architecture, or definitive power output, they did provide some details on some components.

Honda developed the new e-Axle motors in partnership with Hitachi Astemo, one of the company’s joint venture partners. Honda says that the new motors are 40% smaller and lighter than the competitive set, with the inverter placed directly next to the motor for space savings. The 0 platform will get 50 kW and 180 kW options that can be configured for a maximum power output of 360 kW.

Honda said the 0 battery will be “6% thinner… compared to the standard component/function installed in currently available production EVs,” but wouldn’t say which competitors it used. The company also reduced the number of parts in the battery case from over 60 to just five thanks to new modular manufacturing techniques.

Honda’s new e-Axle motors will get 50 kW and 180 kW options on the 0 platform and can be configured for a maximum power output of 360 kW. (Abigail Bassett)

Honda said the pouch-style cells will be able to charge from 15% to 80% in around 10-15 minutes, suggesting an 800-volt architecture. The batteries were developed in conjunction with the joint venture that Honda has with LG, and will be built in the Marysville plant.

The Honda Saloon concept in the lobby of the Honda Tochigi, Japan R&D facility. The EV, which debuted at CES 2024, is slated to be among the first Honda 0 Series models to enter production. (Honda)

Honda plans to release seven EVs for North America on the platform by 2030. The 0 platform is an important step toward Honda’s goal of all global sales to be battery electric or fuel cell EVs by 2040. The first EV on the platform will be the upcoming Saloon, a sedan-style vehicle that was previewed at CES 2024. Honda says that the Saloon, which will likely get another name when it makes its production debut at CES 2025, will essentially be a halo vehicle for the brand and that the technology will trickle down to other lower-priced EVs as the company rolls out the rest of the lineup. Honda says the production Saloon will appear in showrooms as a 2026 model.

Manufacturing updates and innovations to get to 0

To achieve its thin, light goals for the new 0 platform, Honda developed new manufacturing techniques and has made large machine investments that will arrive at the Ohio plant in the coming year.

A completed battery case for the Honda 0 Series EVs. (Honda)

The company has invested in six 6,000-ton mega-casting machines that will initially be used to manufacture the battery case for the 0 platform. Eventually, these machines will be expanded to manufacture body frames like the rear module. These huge machines will be able to produce modular battery cases for different-sized vehicles that Honda will build on the platform (both sedans and SUVs), and Honda will use 3D friction stir welding (FSW). The technique reduces the amount of heat put into parts, thus reducing deformation while improving the strength and air-tightness between joints. The company developed the technique on its ATV vehicles and first used it in mass production for the front body frame under the Accord starting in 2012.

Honda has also pioneered a welding technique called Constant DC Chopping (CDC), which allows the welding of thinner and thicker pieces of high-tensile steel with less splatter and better connection. Honda has leveraged what it has learned from inverter technology used in everything from their manufacturing lines to their experience in generators to manage the heat distribution in the weld and keep it constant, ensuring a better connection. Honda says it can roll out CDC welding by replacing the welding guns and simply adding software to the weld and robot controllers. The company will start by rolling the technology out to the 0 manufacturing line and then apply it to their ICE and HEV products, resulting in around 20% weight savings across the entire fleet.

A cross-section of the Honda 0 series battery case reveals the pack’s integrated cooling channels. (Honda)

Honda also plans to roll out machine vision and AI to digitize the quality assurance of human workers and improve parts traceability. In Japan, the company showed off a camera attached to a worker’s hard hat that could capture video of a weld and rate it for quality. The company also uses digital twin technology to maximize the manufacturing line and manage the complexity of different powertrain builds, as the company will build EVs alongside the ICE and hybrid vehicles it already builds on the same line.

Improved Safety and Frame Flex

Honda 0 Series battery modules are assembled using a quality control tracking system. A green indicator on the tool confirms the correct attachment. (Honda)

In addition to innovative manufacturing, Honda has also rethought the frame and body components of its future BEV vehicles to improve handling, create lighter vehicles, and improve performance in a crash. For one, the e-Axles are now lower in the vehicle to avoid interfering with the body in an impact. Engineers told SAE Media that they’ve been able to convert the collision in the small overlap crash test into a rotational force rather than a direct cabin force thanks to the new frame and body components.

One of Honda’s new megacasting machines that will manufacture Honda 0 Series battery cases. (Honda)

Gyro attitude estimation and stabilization control lessons from the Asimo robot will also be used to improve the dynamics of future Honda vehicles. They will be integrated in a core ECU that will help control suspension, steering, brake control, and drive motor to keep cornering flat and manage body control.