While there is no shortage of startups and disruptors in the electric two-wheeler space, the giants of automotive sector are slowly coming up with their electric offerings.
Honda has entered the electric scooter market in India with its Activa E scooter. The scooter is the electric version of its Activa scooter, which has been one of the best-selling scooters in the Indian market over more than a decade. Honda will reveal the pricing of the Activa E scooter and start bookings on 1st January, and will begin delivering scooters in February.
The Active E comes in two variants, the Standard and the Sync Dup. The top speed of the scooter will be 80 kmph, and it will have a claimed range of 102 km on a full charge. The scooter will go from 0 to 60 kmph in 7.3 seconds. The Activa E will have a seven-inch TFT screen and will have features which will be controlled by Honda’s smartphone app. The scooter’s H-smart key will come with features including Smart Find, Smart Safe, Smart Unlock and Smart Start.
Interestingly, the scooter will come with a pair of swappable batteries. These batteries are called Honda Mobile Power Pack E, and are developed and maintained by Honda. Honda says it has already set up battery-swapping stations in Bengaluru and Delhi, while it’ll soon be setting them up in Mumbai. This means that Activa E users will be able to simply reach a charging station and get a fully-charged battery for their scooters, as opposed to waiting for their batteries to charge through an electrical socket.
Honda’s entry could end up shaking up the e-scooter market. Honda is one of the biggest scooter companies in India, and its Activa variant has been at the top of the best selling scooter charts for years. As such, Honda and Activa enjoy tremendous brand recognition, which can likely translate to the new electric version. On the flip side, Honda does seem to be slightly late to the electric scooter game, with competitors like Bajaj and TVS having launched their electric products several quarters ago. But if Honda Activa E can deliver on its promises, and get even a fraction of the positive word-of-mouth publicity that Honda Activa has accumulated over the years, it can end up making a serious dent in India’s e-scooter space.