--- title: "Honda Hits Its 0 Series SUV Concept With a Shrink Ray, and This One Is Going Into Production" date: "2025-10-28" modified: "2025-10-28" authors: - name: "Joel Feder" job_title: "Director of Content and Product" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/joel-feder" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/honda-0-series-alpha-is-the-compact-jdm-version-of-the-production-vehicle-that-looks-like-a-concept" categories: - "Honda News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Electric Vehicle" - "suv/crossover" --- # Honda Hits Its 0 Series SUV Concept With a Shrink Ray, and This One Is Going Into Production ![Honda’s 0 Series SUV α]() The electric SUV you see here isn't a wild concept. It's [coming to your neighborhood]() in 2027. Well, not your neighborhood, unless you live in Japan. But someone's neighborhood. Honda's 0 Series SUV α (alpha) debuted on Tuesday at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, looking like a version of the near-production 0 Series SUV if it starred in Honey, I Shrunk Honda's New Electric SUV. Honda said this iteration of the 0 SUV is a prototype, but the overall design is really similar to that of the larger sibling, and seems pretty production-intent. That's wild. With production of the CR-V-sized electric SUV kicking off in Ohio in the first half of next year, Honda is serious about its 0 Series lineup becoming a reality. But this baby 0 Series SUV, known as 0 α, will be for global markets like Japan and India when it enters production in 2027. It's more Honda HR-V-sized than CR-V. ![Honda’s 0 Series SUV α]() ![Honda’s 0 Series SUV α]() The Honda 0 Series SUV, which wasn't even really a concept when it first debuted, but rather a preview of the future, had 15 Chiclet-like LED lights sitting where the headlights should be. The prototype 0 α shown in Japan has a full-width LED light bar, presumably a daytime running light, that looks like a handlebar mustache. Larger headlights still can't be seen, but presumably will sit beneath this light bar. The front bumper features a black plastic panel in the center, while the lower intake is narrower and shorter than its larger sibling. The larger 0 Series SUV design featured a charge port on the driver-side front fender, but that's been moved for the smaller 0 α to the front end according to Honda, though it can't clearly be seen in photos. The rear doors feature door handles integrated and hidden by the C-pillar. The 0 α's C-pillars don't have any glass windows in them, unlike the larger 0 Series SUV. The shorter wheelbase of the 0 α gives it an appearance of having larger doors than its larger sibling, but that's probably a visual trick thanks to the reworked glass on the greenhouse. ![Honda’s 0 Series SUV α]() **Joel Feder** The rear features a full U-shaped LED taillight that spans the entire tailgate. The bumper protrudes like a diffuser straight off the larger 0 Series SUV. The larger SUV featured a back glass that bled into the roof, enabling the entire hatch to open like a trunk lid on a conventional sedan. It's not yet clear how the back hatch of the 0 α opens. If the entire lift gate opens into the roof like the larger model the 0 SUVs might be perfect for hauling taller items. For anyone thinking these things look like nothing else on the road, you would be correct. That's on purpose. Honda's Toshinobu Minami, Managing Director and COO of Design Center at Honda R&D, [told *The Drive* he wants to make cars desirable to own]() and "make people happy." The complete rethink of Honda's design language is all-encompassing. The automaker's logo has even been [redesigned as a minimalist throwback](). Honda still hasn't said what the [production variant of the electric 0 Series SUV will be named]() when it hits the road in the first half of 2026. *Honda provided The Drive with travel, accommodations, and access to the vehicle for the purpose of writing this news story.* ## Author Overseeing what you see, read, touch, hear, and interact with from the vast lakes of Minnesota, Joel Feder shapes how The Drive looks and operates as the head of content and product initiatives. On a daily basis, Joel leads the newsroom and editorial staff playing point on both short-term coverage and long-term strategic plans. His mission is to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media by helping the team execute original reporting, breaking news, and exclusive opportunities. Regarded as an industry insider and recognized by colleagues, fellow journalists, and manufacturers as a point-person and leader in the industry, Joel owns and runs the largest automotive professionals group on Facebook in an effort to serve and help others. Joel serves as a juror for the World Car Awards. In addition, he is the board chair and chair of the governance and nominating committee for Move Forward MN, a local non-profit that helps at-risk youth with barrier-free mental health and housing services. While you’re reading this he’s either on his computer or iPhone chasing the latest news or drafting a story. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Bluesky]() [Email]()