Honda is entering the EV scooter segment with its all-new Honda Activa E. In an interview with ET Auto, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India President, Atsushi Ogata, confirmed an HMSI EV product debut in the country. But the lunch is not expected in India until 2023.

Honda Activa 6G
Honda Activa 6G

The electric scooter is said to come with battery swapping technology, which will be a convenient option for buyers to replace a discharged battery with a charged battery at swap stations and to charge the battery at home. Consumers will have two options: they will be able to swap their dead batteries with charged ones through either a subscription model or a nominal fee or the user can also buy back up a battery pack that can be charged and replaced when the installed one gets discharged.

Earlier this year, Bounce also launched the Bounce Infinity E1 electric scooter which became India’s first swappable battery electric scooter. The company has also introduced a similar subscription-based battery swapping system dubbed ‘battery as a service.’

In that accord, the upcoming Honda Activa E will be a direct competitor to the Bounce Infinity E1 along with other major electric scooters in India like the Ola S1, Bajaj Chetak, Ather 450X, and Hero Electric scooters.

This may also prove to be the right time to enter the EV market for Honda as battery prices are coming down and central and state governments announced incentives to encourage a faster transition to e-mobility, industry stakeholders also said that the potential of conversion is high as this time as 21 million two-wheelers were sold before the outbreak of the pandemic in FY19.

Honda’s previous partner Hero is also set to release its new EV scooter next month, introducing more competition in the developing Indian EV market.

 

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