Introduction
Honda has been the leader in the Indian two-wheeler market, especially their Activa series has been the first choice of most Indian customers. The number says that Honda alone has captured more than 28% of the Indian 2-wheeler market. Honda is huge!
But the future is of electric vehicles and if the company doesn’t adapt with time, it’ll extinct in the future just like Nokia, Kodak, etc. So to remain the one and only leader in the two-wheeler market in India, Honda is now planning to expand their portfolio to electric vehicles. According to Honda India’s MD, they’ll begin their part of electrification with their most famous scooter “Activa”. Honda is planning to launch their first electric scooter “Activa electric” in 2023.
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When and how did this announcement happen:
This update is coming from Honda India’s MD himself, at a launch event of their latest IC engine electric bike where he’s asked about their electric vehicles plans. During the launch event of CB300F, during the media interaction when asked about the updates regarding their electric vehicles Atsushi Ogata, MD, President and CEO, HMSI, finally broke their silence over this topic.
Honda’s take on electric mobility and how they see it:
Honda has a very positive take on electric vehicles and they are readily available to break their comfort zone and shift from making ICE vehicles to electric mobility. When asked about their development in the electric vehicles field, Atsushi Ogata says.
“In the past six months, we have had serious discussions with our team in Japan, where we are running a bunch of popular electric scooters. We have done our feasibility studies and now we are all set to embark on the actual development stage in collaboration with our Japanese engineers. With the prices of petrol going up, the demand for battery-operated scooters is on the rise. We are creating a ‘futuristic Activa’ which in itself will be a new segment that will cater to the additional requirements of short distance travel within the city in the urban and semi-urban regions.”
Along with just that, sources say that the company will follow the make-in-India initiative and manufacture the scooter from the ground up in India itself. From components to servicing everything will be done in India only.
This shows, unlike many companies like Maruti Suzuki, they are actively working on it soon we’ll be seeing electric Activa aka ‘futuristic Activa’ running on Indian roads.
Also read: Best electric scooters under 80,000
Electric activa competition to Ola & Ather:
To understand this topic properly, we first need to remember that both the company will be targeting different demographic markets. Scooters like Ola S1 pro and Ather 450X are mostly made to target the premium class of people, but activa has always been the scooter for the middle class or slightly lower than that. Now if or whenever Honda will launch an electric activa it’ll be a mid-range electric scooter that’s priced between 80k to 100k INR (most probably). So electric activa competing with Ola S1 pro or Ather 450X will be completely out of the equation. But for sure whatever the price range Activa will be dominating over its competition.
Activa electric expected specifications:
So, as the HMSI’s MD himself says the scooter will specifically be for shorter distances or intracity commutes so we can expect it to be a Hero Optima equivalent, i.e, a mid-range electric scooter with various features.
Electric Activa specs:
- Range – 110km
- Top speed – 60km/h
- Battery capacity – 2.5kWh
- Motor – 1.5kW
- Charging time – 3-4 hours
So these are the few estimated specification of the upcoming Activa electric scooter. There are high chances Activa will come around these specifications only.
Activa electric price:
The estimated price of Activa electric could go upto 70-75k INR.
Your Opinion:
Are you excited about the upcoming Activa electric? No matter what, the launch of Activa electric will boot the EV adoption in India and companies may stay in their comfort zone of making ICE engine scooters but the future is electric. Please comment below your views on this electric scooter.
Summary:
Activa electric is truly the gem of eyes for many EV enthusiasts and for various others too. Numerous people are waiting for this electric scooter to launch soon in Indian roads. With a mid-range electric scooter, Honda is targeting the mass market of India, let’s see how the market will react to the scooter and whether it be able to remain the undisputed leader of the two-wheeler market.
Activa electric F.A.Q.
Yes, the news Is confirmed by Honda India MD, CEO, it’ll launch in India around the start of 2023.
Somewhere in the starting of the year 2023.
It’s estimated between 90-120 km/charge
As it’s targeting the mass market, the price of the scooter could be around 70-75k INR
Well, the scooter isn’t launched yet so saying anything about it yet will be premature. But it’s highly expected that Ola and Ather will remain the most advanced electric scooters in India.
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