Honda is racking up a series of novelties and world premieres for the upcoming Japan Mobility Show. It has already unveiled pictures of two small city cars in a preview. The Sustaina-C represents the company’s vision of circularity, while the smaller CI-MEV is an urban last-mile car with enhanced automated driving.

The Sustaina-C looks like a sized-down version of the all-electric e but pushes the barriers beyond emission-free driving, as the body panels are made from reused and recycled acrylic resin. The idea is that the used material can be reinjected in the value chain at end-of-life to cut CO2 emissions from panel production.

Kei-car territory

At this point, it is not clear how many components are manufactured from the resin. The design and dimensions of the concept, however, point in the direction of a successor to the Honda e, which the brand primarily developed for Europe as the homeland is a slow adopter of a battery-powered vehicle fleet due to charging infrastructure complexities. Nonetheless, the driveline of the  Sustaina-C is an unspecified battery pack.

As urban mobility defines everyday life in Japan, Honda is also wrapping the veils of the CI-MEV, a tiny electric vehicle in the category of kei-cars. It is marketed as an alternative to public transport and could be offered as a sharing service. The CI-MEV, which also features autonomous driving technology, isn’t a concept but a prototype ready in a near-to-final production outfit.

Successor to NSX?

The Honda Sustiana-C nor the CI-MEV will be the major showstoppers at the stand. The brand has announced that a Specialty Sports Concept will take that role but keeps tightlipped on preliminary info. Already in 2017, the company unveiled an exciting all-electric sports car concept, but as a teasing picture shows, it might be an emission-free successor to the famed NSX.

The cars will be joined by a new all-electric motorcycle that will reduce waiting times by adopting swappable battery packs, much like competitors Silence, Hero, or Okinawa have introduced. To see the entire line-up undisguised, we must wait until October 25, when the Japan Mobility Show opens its doors to the press.