Honda is set to bring electric scooters to India.
Right now, it is the undisputed leader in ICE scooters here.
Atsushi Ogata, MD, President and CEO, HMSI has revealed that they will launch their electric scooter early 2023.
Contents
‘Futuristic Activa’
They are creating a ‘futuristic Activa’ which in itself will be a new segment that will cater to the additional requirements of short distance travel within the city in urban and semi-urban regions.
Being a mainstream manufacturer like TVS and Bajaj Honda’s products can be expected to be safe from EV fire hazards that some EV startups are prone to.
Honda will ensure that localisation is high, with commitment to building highest possible localized content that will include locally developed components like battery, electronic control unit, and the motors.
Charging infra, battery swapping
Noting that infrastructure is a major concern for this market, relying on one charging solution will only delay the penetration of electric mobility in the Indian market.
Hence its openness to explore both battery charging and swapping methods for its upcoming models.
It has already started a new vertical named Honda Power Pack Energy India through which it will locally produce swappable batteries for two and three-wheeled EVs in India.
To that end it has partnered up with HPCL and Bengaluru Metro to establish swapping stations, starting from Bengaluru.
Engineers from Japan on board
In order to develop its first electric scooter, HMSI is putting together a team of engineers from Honda Motorcycles, Japan.
One thing that could come true is that Honda’s first EV might adopt the swappable battery tech mentioned above.
This means that the user does not own the battery, rather they are just renting it.
Speculations
This already takes care of the cost factor associated with EVs.
It is likely to get the Activa name since Indian customers are already familiar with it.
Honda may also ensure that the scooter gives a decent performance.
Competition
The range need not be very high either since the battery can be swapped to a fully charged one in an instant, hence reducing range anxiety and slow battery charging hassles.
When launched it will take on the TVS iQube, Ola S1 Pro, Ather 450X, Simple One, etc.
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