Honda has confirmed that its newly unveiled electric SUV, the Honda 0 Alpha (officially styled as Honda 0 α), will not be introduced in major Western markets, including the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
The model, which made its global debut at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, is being developed primarily for emerging markets in Asia.
Toshikazu Hirose, Chief Engineer of the 0 Alpha, said the EV will be manufactured at Honda’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan, India, marking the company’s first electric SUV to be built in India.
The model is expected to help improve capacity utilization at the facility. Production will be limited to this plant, with no plans for additional manufacturing sites globally.
Honda intends to launch the 0 Alpha in India in the first half of 2027, followed by rollouts in Japan and Southeast Asia. The company is developing both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive versions, signalling potential availability in a wider range of emerging markets.
A Honda spokesperson confirmed that the 0 Alpha will not be exported to North America or Europe. The first approved export destinations are Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
When asked about Australia and New Zealand, Hirose ruled out any plans, stating that those markets prefer larger models similar to the U.S. market.
The 0 Alpha will be positioned in the compact SUV segment, roughly comparable in size to the previous-generation HR-V (Vezel).
It will feature Honda’s latest design language and be built on a newly developed EV-only platform. While the platform itself is unique to the 0 Alpha, some components will be shared with existing Honda vehicles to maintain cost efficiency.
In Western markets, Honda will instead focus on the larger Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon electric vehicles, both slated for launch in 2026.
These models will be produced at the company’s new EV Hub in Ohio, underscoring its regional strategy to cater to markets where consumers favour bigger, more powerful electric vehicles.
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