Quick look
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The new H mark will be used on next-generation Honda EVs as well as hybrid electric vehicles from 2027.
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Beyond use on vehicles, the new design will become the unified logo for all Honda automotive business, including dealerships, motorsports, and marketing.
Honda Motor’s brand logo for its automobiles has long been a simple ‘H’, while the company’s name and a wing have been used for its motorcycles (since 1955). The ‘H’ logo first appeared in 1963 on a small truck and besides being used on its 4-wheelers, it has also been used for various business activities.
Over the decades, the logo has undergone subtle changes but remained pretty much the same single letter, and is a globally recognised part of the brand identity.
Variation for Type R models
Some variations have a red colour, like the logo for the Type R models. This is a signature visual cue differentiating the high-performance models and also paying homage to Honda’s Formula 1 racing heritage. This red badge signifies the pinnacle of Honda’s performance engineering, derived from their racing division.
Over the past few years, a few automakers have made changes to their brand logos to make them more compatible with digital imagery. Where there used to be a ‘3-dimensional’ look, the new versions are more ‘1-dimensional’ with minimal colour variations.
First seen in 2024
Honda has now announced that it will have a new H mark, as it calls the logo, with a refreshed design. The new logo was actually shown a year ago with the Honda 0 Series concept cars at CES. At that time, Honda said it would be used on next-generation EVs, but did not say when that would happen.
For electrified models
Now the company has confirmed the change will take place on models introduced to the market from 2027. It will be used for all electrified models, including the hybrid electric ones which currently have a version that was last revised in 1981.
Additionally, it will also be associated with Honda automobile business as a whole, eg other customer touchpoints such as dealership locations, communication initiatives and automobile motorsports activities.
The design expression
The new design expression, like two outstretched hands, ‘expresses its commitment to the transformation of the company as well as its corporate attitude of going beyond the origin of Honda and constantly pursuing new challenges and advancements’.
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