Honda readying 10 new EV two-wheelers for India
The batteries in Honda’s forthcoming electric vehicles will be fixed and swappable. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, the country’s second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is planning to introduce ten electric two-wheelers over the next decade, catering to the complete spectrum of zero-emission cars in the future.
- The Activa electric will be Honda’s first EV.
- Next year, 1.5 lakh units are expected to be produced.
- India will eventually export to worldwide markets.
Honda’s upcoming electric vehicles: Specifications
According to numerous sources, the aim is to offer a variety of powertrains, speed categories, and body designs. Honda’s EV strategy was developed after a two-year investigation. The developed items will be available in both fixed and swappable configurations.
Work on two projects, codenamed GJNA and K4BA, has already begun to jumpstart the EV game plan. One of them is the Activa Electric, which will be built with a fixed battery, and the other is a moped with a swappable battery.
Honda is one of the few major mainstream manufacturers yet to enter the EV market in 2024, but it may be the first Japanese two-wheeler brand to do so.
Honda Motorcycle’s first EV (presumably the Activa electric) will enter the road in March 2024, followed by another model in September 2024. Both of these models have a potential market of half a million units over the course of three years. When further models are introduced until 2026-2027, the business intends to reach a volume of close to a million units, according to a source quoted by our sister journal Autocar Professional on Honda’s EV strategy.
Honda anticipates producing 1-1.5 lakh units of both models in the first year. In the mainstream market, the business expects a significant double-digit increase to around 5 million units in FY24.
Honda launched the battery-changing service in November 2021 to support electric auto rickshaws. HEID began with a network of 70 switching stations in Bengaluru and planned to extend to other cities.
While Honda’s immediate goal is to develop a niche in the domestic market, the company eventually plans to export EVs to worldwide markets as well.
The strategy was developed by Atsushi Ogata, president of Honda Motorbike & Scooters India, who has outlined a three-year roadmap to expand the addressable market for the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer.
In a recent interview, Ogata stated that he anticipates EV penetration to be in the 15-25 percent range by the end of the decade and that Honda’s roadmap is based on these projections. Electric vehicle penetration has already reached 5-7 percent of the whole two-wheeler market, driven by both new-age start-ups and seasoned businesses.
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Content Credit: AUTOCAR INDIA
Great to see that there’s this continued push in India for electric vehicles, two-wheelers included. It’ll be interesting to see how the EV landscape changes and develops as the years go on.