About two years ago, Honda built a pint-size electric car called the Shogo to help ease some of the stress and anxiety of children staying at hospital, in this case the Children’s Hospital Of Orange County in California.
The plan was always to build more Shogos, the name derived from a Japanese phrase and intended to mean “soaring into the future,” and Honda on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to the project by announcing plans to build and deliver an additional 60 examples to deliver to children’s hospitals nationwide.
Two new examples have already been built and were recently delivered to Akron Children’s in Akron, Ohio, and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Shogo is a ride-on vehicle developed in-house by Honda engineers, and is being built by Honda’s U.S.-based HPD motorsports division, soon to become HRC US.
The vehicles are used to transport young patients to and from procedures and appointments within the hospital. Honda said the Shogo is designed for patients aged from four to nine. There’s a steering wheel which also contains a stop and go controller. The top speed is approximately 5 mph, helping to maintain safety.
Additional features to help make a hospital stay more fun include a toy bucket in the front of the vehicle for items the child would like to bring along with them, cup holders, a center horn with different sound options, and a customizable license plate slot to display the name of each rider.
Each Shogo also comes with its own VIN, marked on aluminum plate hidden away on each chassis.