Tokyo, Oct 25 Honda lined up a range of new mobility product concepts for travel on the ground, in the ocean and the skies, including a specialty sports model, Prelude Concept.
“My dream is to realise a world where mobility products bearing the Honda logo travel all around the world, on the ground, in the ocean, in the skies and in outer space, and people enjoy the true freedom of mobility,’‘ Toshihiro Mibe, President, CEO, and Representative Director, Honda Motor Co Ltd, told newspersons at a press conference here, before formally showcasing some of his company’s advanced mobility products.
“Our customers are expecting sports models. At the automobile electrification business briefing we held last year, I talked about future sports models. I would like to show you the specialty sports model, Prelude Concept,’‘ the Honda CEO said.
This model will become the prelude for Honda’s future models, which will inherit the “joy of driving” into the full-fledged electrified future, and embody Honda’ s unalterable sports mindset, he added.
Honda eVTOL and HondaJet, which are also displayed, will expand mobility three-dimensionally into the skies, and enable people to transcend the constraints of place and distance, he said.
Cruise Origin, an autonomous vehicle, will enable people to transcend the constraints of time. Since the interior space of this vehicle can be completely private, the users can use their travel time more freely, such as holding a meeting or having a fun time with the family, without worrying about other people around them.
“This vehicle will indeed let us transcend the constraints of time. Time is an absolute constraint for most people. Mobility products and services, which enable people to use the limited time given equally to all people – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – more efficiently, for more meaningful things, will offer tremendous value for people,’‘ the Honda CEO said. Together with GM and Cruise, Honda is planning to launch a driverless ride-hail service using Cruise Origin, in Japan in early 2026.
“This year, Honda is celebrating its 75th anniversary. When we look back on our history of offering a wide range of value to our customers and society as a manufacturer of mobility products, we can say that Honda has grown to this point while always being driven by “dreams,” and taking on challenges to realise what was thought to be impossible,’‘ he said.
Dreams to design
Apart from showcasing its future mobility solutions, Honda is offering an opportunity to give shape to the dreams of those who want innovative mobility models. The visitors at the Honda pavilion at JMS as well as to its web site, get a chance to participate in its Dream Loop.
“At Honda, we began using generative AI to support the ability of our designers to demonstrate their creativity. At this Japan Mobility Show, generative AI will generate design drawings of future mobility you dream of and project them on the Loop Screen inside our booth,’‘ Mibe said.
One can enjoy the co-creation contents that will create a blueprint of your dream mobility at the exhibition site and on the website. After the Show, Honda plans to select a few and have Honda designers work on them.
(The reporter is in Tokyo on an invite from Honda)