Honda announces Alpha EV in India, effectively scrapping 0 Series
Honda has announced Alpha as the final name of its first electric car for India. Evolving from the '0 α (alpha)', a near-production prototype unveiled at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, the new EV will compete with the Hyundai Creta Electric, Mahindra BE 6, Tata Sierra.ev, Maruti Suzuki e Vitara, and Toyota Urban Cruiser Ebella in India.
Image: Honda
The 0 α was the third production-intent model in Honda’s 0 Series family, following the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV unveiled at CES 2025. The company cancelled the production versions of the latter two models in March. It is going ahead with the 0 α, but without “0” in the name, effectively bringing the 0 Series nomenclature to an end.
Comparable to the global HR-V in terms of size and positioning, the Alpha will celebrate its world premiere in India on 2 December. Honda started local testing of the new EV on public roads in March and later extended the programme to Japan. The company plans to manufacture this model at its factory in Tapukara, Rajasthan, currently its only operational car plant in India.
Toshikazu Hirose, Large Project Leader from Honda’s global team and Chief Engineer for the project, has said that the Alpha will have a wheelbase somewhere between 2,700 and 2,800 mm, _Autocar India_ reported. The company plans to offer two LFP battery pack options, and according to a report from _Kompas.com_ (paywalled), it will source the cells from CATL’s new plant in Karawang (West Java province), Indonesia.
The exterior of the Alpha would look quite close to the 0 α, featuring a swoopy, futuristic design inspired by the larger 0 SUV. Prototypes spotted during the testing phase have indicated that the interior would also look quite different from other models Honda manufactures in India, with the dashboard integrating a visibly large tablet-like touchscreen infotainment system and a fully digital instrument cluster.
At the debut of the 0 α last year, a Honda spokesperson told _TopElectricSUV.com_ that the company plans to build the final version in India in both left- and right-hand drive versions and export it to Japan and Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. However, the company official said that there is no plan to introduce this model in North America, Europe, Australia, or New Zealand.
autocarindia.com, otomotif.kompas.com(Paywall), topelectricsuv.com (U.S., Europe & Australia)