- The Japanese automaker aims to start selling its electric minicars by the end of the decade and will have to test its prototypes until then.

The car firm has a prototype with one seat, another with two and the last one with four. / Honda Motor

This electric car for a passenger reaches 15 km/h is ideal for urban trips

The commitment to autonomous driving and electric cars is nothing new. However, the proposal of the Honda Motor Company to put tiny electric vehicles designed for autonomous driving without maps is new and is already being tested.

Honda demonstrated the operation of what it hopes will be the mobility service of the future. His prototypes are three: one a minicar in which only one person fits, another with two seats and a latest model for four passengers.

Through the Honda R&D division, which is responsible for the research and development of the brand's ultra-compact electric vehicles, they hope to make the commercialization of these cars feasible by the end of the decade. To achieve its goal, Honda will first have to test the vehicles, something it intends to do later this month at a camp north of Tokyo, Japan.

The developers are using technology from CiKoMa, a next-generation mobility company noted for its AI and spatial recognition cameras. Thanks to this technology, they will not need to use digital maps and will analyze the roads and surroundings to automatically choose the next driving route.

How are the prototypes?

As detailed by Honda, the demonstration tests will be done first in four-seat electric vehicles. Each car will have a stereo camera up front and another six placed in both the front and rear. In this way they hope to be able to instantly detect the roads and the obstacles that they find in their path.

The car in which they carried out the first tests will be the four-seater. / Honda Motor

The vehicles will have different support elements that will make driving safer. They will first be driven by drivers, and slowly Honda will add autonomous driving capabilities until the vehicles are fully autonomous in two to three years.

Characteristics of mini cars

As explained in the demonstration, Honda's electric vehicles will have four replaceable battery packs under the seats. Each one will have a range of 20 to 30 kilometers on a single charge.

The minicars will have speeds between 10 and 15 km/h, automatically slowing down on curves and at intersections. Arriving at a place where they can change lanes, drivers will be able to choose the direction using a joystick located on the right of the vehicle.

This Honda proposal is an alternative to the bicycle or the electric scooter in urban environments. With these miniature cars, Honda offers a way to travel short distances without getting tired, safely and reducing carbon emissions.

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