Honda has just transformed 50 of its Odyssey MPVs to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals and quarantine facilities in Japan. And they’ve done so without risking the driver from infection by sealing off the rear section.

The carmaker has placed an airtight divide between the driver and the rear passenger areas of the vans and tweaked their air conditioning systems to enable fresh air to enter through the front near the base of the windshield wipers, pass through to the rear passenger area through vents and exit through the back.


The one-way ventilation system ensures that air from the rear section doesn’t enter the driver’s space.

Honda began lending these special MPVs to health authorities in Tokyo, and eventually to nearby Saitama prefecture where the Odyssey is currently being produced. The company said it will consider making more available depending on demand.

By May 2020, Honda will begin producing its own face shields at its manufacturing sites in Tochigi and Suzuka.