In recent years, car companies have been experimenting with unique concepts for their vehicles, and another major company has decided to join the fun – and to do it right here in Ohio. Honda has announced the production of two new Electric Vehicles (EVs) in central Ohio. The prototypes of a smaller car called the 0 Series Saloon and a larger vehicle called the 0 Series SUV were unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in early January.
Honda has joined many companies in creating more environmentally sustainable products in recent years, including investments in electric vehicles. The company is investing in the creation of EVs and is doing it here in Ohio.
An electric vehicle
“is a car that’s energy source comes from a chemical battery of some sort, and the electricity from the batteries is used to drive electric motors,” AP Chemistry teacher Brian Wenger said.
EVs are typically seen as being better for the environment than gas-powered cars. NBC4 reports that Honda invested $700 million into Ohio plants to shift their focus to EV’s, creating an EV hub in central Ohio. Governor Mike Dewine estimated at the time that this would benefit the local economy by creating around 300 new jobs. The 0 Series EVs will initially be manufactured at Marysville Auto Plant and other plants in Honda’s new EV hub.
“We’re doing them here in Ohio and we’re doing all the electric vehicle production for the next two years, probably in Ohio,” Honda’s External Manufacturing Communications Director, Eric Mauk said.
Mauk said that EV manufacturing in Ohio will pave the way for Honda to expand.
“We can retool the plants and set the standard for everybody else, all the other Honda plants in North America. So we can make sure that the processes are mature, that we’re doing everything in a great way, and we’ve got a solid process,” Mauk said. “So, while it’s been a slower process for us here in Ohio, it will be faster at other plants because we will show them the way.”
Ohio has been Honda’s ground for expansion before, with the Marysville Auto Plant being the company’s first plant in the U.S. as it was the first plant that Honda opened in the U.S. back in 1979.
The 0 Series will feature limited driver assistance technology. This will allow the car to perform limited driving tasks in certain scenarios, such as backed up highways. Mauk stressed that this technology is not what is traditionally thought of as self-driving.
“[It’s] a lot of technology to assist drivers,” Mauk said. “We want the driver to be an integral part of the experience.”
Junior Jonas Saling agreed that fully self-driving cars are not a viable option in the near future.
“I don’t like the idea of the driver removing the majority of their attention from the road,” he said. “At least for now there still needs to be quite a bit of human involvement.”
Honda’s new EVs feature an unorthodox, futuristic silhouette. Mauk said this is to catch consumers’ attention and represent a new chapter for Honda.
“[It’s] really what we’re calling the ‘second founding’ of Honda. It’s almost like we’re building an entire new company. Cause we’re doing things we’ve never done before,” he said. “We wanted to give them a look that was different, since the vehicle, the technology itself, is so different. We wanted to give the customer a silhouette and a look that was a little more different.”
Honda’s 0 Series is putting central Ohio in the forefront of new technological developments, giving the Buckeye State a hand in shaping the future.
