Honda’s new localised electric scooter is under development
Honda's first attempt at the EV market didn't come up with the best of responses but the Japanese brand is looking to correct their mistakes and come back stronger in the market.
New Delhi: It isn’t news that Honda’s big play in the Indian electric vehicle market didn’t hit the mark. In spite the big following of the "Activa” nameplate, both the Activa e: and the QC1 struggled to find their footing. Both of the models were based on international models that were re-engineered for the Indian market.
After a period of sluggish sales, production for these two models reportedly ground to a halt several months ago. Still, the Japanese giant are not giving up, and instead, they are regrouping for a more calculated second attempt as reported by Autocar India.
Honda Activa e: and QC1 drawbacks
The Activa e is the only scooter in the country to come with a factory-supported battery-swapping network. However, the problem was that this said network is far too small. Which means you have to be located close to a swapping station in order to buy one because there’s no provision for home charging.
Furthermore, having the batteries under the seat left little storage space, and competing in a market where 30+ litres of boot space is the standard, it was a significant drawback. Then, the "Battery as a Service" (BaaS) model and high subscription costs only worked against the brand.
In the QC1, Honda addressed the drawback of the Activa e:, coming with home charging and a 26-litre boot, it was in the performance where it lagged. It had a top speed of just 50km/h and a modest 80km range (IDC), and it felt like a city-only runabout. This wasn’t attractive when the competition was increasingly capable of having highway speeds and triple-digit range.
What's next for Honda in ev market?
Honda have learnt the lessons from the two scooters and are reportedly working on their next electric scooter, which will address the drawbacks of both scooters. According to Autocar India the brand are looking to bring a decent, spacious boot that will have a range that can compete with the likes of TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather Rizta and would be packed with a decent feature list.
Honda will also try to get the pricing better and is looking to localise the scooter in a major way. There has been no confirmation yet for the launch timeline of the upcoming Honda e-scooter, and more details will come only when the launch is close.