Honda Probably Launch EV by the End of this Year

It is no surprise that Honda is working on an electric two-wheeler specifically for the Indian market. Now, the company has revealed that its EV will be out within the next financial year. Expect it to be an electric scooter, perhaps the Honda Activa E, and if we're lucky, we could have the EV here by the end of this year.

To this end, Honda had already been testing its swappable batteries on three-wheelers last year, considering it is an excellent way to test the batteries' endurance. One of the first players in the swappable battery space, the bikemaker also tried the swappable battery packs in a Honda Benly e in June 2021.

That said, the swappable battery pack will be meant for an EV that's developed specifically for Indian market. Honda could take the Activa E approach as the “Activa” moniker has huge brand recall, and prospective customers will instantly connect with the name. This should help the company compete with Hero MotoCorp's upcoming E-Scooter developed in conjunction with Taiwan-based battery swapping company, Gogoro.

Battery swapping technology is one of the simplest ways to reduce range anxiety. It considerably brings down the EV charging downtime, as users will simply have to remove the depleted battery and swap it with a fresh one. This technology is also suitable for spots with parking issues since EVs will not have to be parked for as long as the time it takes to charge one conventionally.

Honda developing an electric scooter with swappable batteries will also be in line with the Indian government’s vision of encouraging this technology. In fact, in the Union Budget 2022, it was stated that “a battery swapping policy will be brought out, and interoperability standards will be formulated.”

Apart from the Hero Electric Scooter, the upcoming Honda Activa E will also rival the Bajaj Chetak, Ather 450 Plus, Ola S1, and the TVS iQube Electric.

Expect it to be priced at around Rs 1.10 lakh in the Indian market (ex-showroom).