INCOMING! Honda's Electric Scooter for India to Debut on 27th November

The Indian electric two-wheeler Industry will soon brace the impact from a legacy player. Honda, the Japanese bikemaker is soon going to set foot in the Indian electric two-wheeler marketplace as they have extended an invite to the media for an event that is going to be held in Bengaluru on 27th November. The invite has ‘Watts Ahead’ written on it in bold, giving us a strong hint that it could be the electrified version of the Activa. These are just mere speculations that have been floating around on the internet for quite some time now. Whether it is an electrified version of the Activa or something else, there’s one thing for sure, it is not going to be powered by dinosaur juices.

Could it be the CUV e?

Honda recently showcased the CUV e electric scooter for the European market at the recently concluded EICMA 2024. The CUV e follows a very european design philosophy with smooth curves and creases. It does look proportionate and unique though. The wide LED headlight mounted on the apron gives it a distinctive look. The USP of the CUV e lies in what it packs under the boot. It has dual 1.3kWh battery packs, both of which are removable and can be charged anywhere, bringing in a lot of versatility and liveability on the table. The combined range of both the battery packs stand at a meagre 70kms. While the scooter takes around 3 hours to juice up from 0-70%, it has a top speed of 80kmph. In terms of features, it gets a 5-inch TFT cluster with all your necessary connectivity bits.

But will it make sense in India?

To be honest, no. One of the biggest selling points for scooters in markets like India is not just mobility but practicality as well. Since both of the battery packs occupy the whole space underneath the seat, there’s practically no boot space in the CUV e, rendering it basically useless for someone who is looking for a practical scooter. However, we are also expecting that the scooter that we will be getting, will only be based upon the CUV e. It will not be the CUV e that other markets are getting.

Honda is also setting up its own swapping stations in cities like Bengaluru, hinting at their intent of bringing an electric scooter to India which has a swappable battery system. However, Honda could also go ahead and launch an electric scooter with a fixed battery pack. That way, they will lose out on the versatility of charging the scooter but they will gain some space in return.

Either way, there’s one thing for sure. With Honda entering the electric two-wheeler market place in India, things are bound to heat up. TVS and Bajaj are already racking up good numbers to secure either 2nd or 3rd spot every month. We have always needed legacy players like Honda to enter this competitive space and now that it is finally happening, let’s see how this shockwave affects its rivals.