Honda says its refreshed H logo represents a “second founding” for the company. Honda 2.0, then, is designed to look like it’s from the future.
The Japanese automaker announced on January 13 that it’s adopting a new logo across its automobile business. The company has had some sort of an H mark since 1963, and its new mark is wider than its last, with stems that slant outward as they move upward. The logo is now freed from being inside a frame, and Honda compares it to “two outstretched hands.” It’s meant to evoke a shape, not just a letter.
As the automotive industry electrifies and upgrades its tech, automakers including Audi, Kia, and Tesla have turned to design tropes from 1980s science fiction to make their logos look futuristic, with stenciled, wide letters that evoke the typography of films like Bladerunner and Back to the Future II. Other brands, such as BMW, Mazda, and VW, have gone flat. All in all, these changes signal a great rebranding during a pivotal moment for the industry.
Honda now joins the sweep of rebrands with a logo that wouldn’t look out of place on the outside of a spaceship or worn as a communication badge by an alien admiral in a sci-fi film. It’s a clean, simple mark that’s versatile enough to work well at small scales, on digital screens, in a single color, or as a car badge.
Honda first unveiled the mark in 2024 in dramatic fashion. It launched at that year’s Consumer Electronics Show on a pair of Honda 0 Series concept cars—the Saloon and Space-Hub—that look like they were built for the 2025 movie Tron: Ares and NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon, respectively.
The company announced on January 13 that the mark seen on those concept cars will now be used as the symbol to represent the business. It will appear across touchpoints such as dealership locations, communication initiatives, and motorsports events. Next year, it will finally begin appearing on Honda EVs and hybrid-electric vehicles.
This is a future-forward rebrand that’s years in the making.
“The automobile market is currently undergoing a major transformation with electrification and application of intelligent technologies,” Honda said in a statement. “The new H mark will represent the ‘second founding,’ which Honda is pursuing with strong determination to lead the way.”
Known for models like the Accord, Civic, and CR-V, Honda is a brand associated with affordability and value. With its sci-fi-ready new logo, though, the company is aiming for a brand identity that drivers will soon associate with traits like transformation and advancement.