Honda marked its debut in India's electric two-wheeler space with the launch of Activa E and QC1.
27 Nov 2024 | 16111 Views | By Kiran Murali
After a long wait, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has finally made its debut in the Indian electric two-wheeler market with the launch of two electric scooters - the Activa E and the QC1, one for personal commute primarily, and the other focused on budget customers.
The Japanese two-wheeler maker ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
After a long wait, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has finally made its debut in the Indian electric two-wheeler market with the launch of two electric scooters - the Activa E and the QC1, one for personal commute primarily, and the other focused on budget customers.
The Japanese two-wheeler maker is the only major traditional two-wheeler maker in India that has not entered the burgeoning electric vehicle market. The prices of these vehicles is likely to be announced in January. While Activa E is available in swappable batteries variant, QC1 has a fixed battery.
"We remain committed to catering to evolving consumer needs in India,"
Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India President, CEO and MD Tsutsumu Otani told reporters while launching the two new models. "These models have been designed with focus on range, safety and performance," he said.
Activa E, built on 6kw direct drive motor, comes with a range of around 102 km and maximum speed of 80 km per hour. QC1 is built on compact in-wheel 1.8 kw motor and has 1.5 kWh lithium-ion BP cell chemistry. It has range of around 80 km and top speed of 50 km per hour
Both electric scooters will be manufactured at Honda's plant in Karnataka. The automaker has four plants in India - Manesar (Haryana), Alwar (Rajasthan), Narsapura (Karnataka) and Vithalapur (Gujarat), and over 6,000 sales and service touchpoints.
The maker of the popular Activa scooter and Shine motorcycle is the second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India. In 2023-24, it sold 45.30 lakh scooters and motorcycles in India, while it exported 3.63 lakh units.
In a bid to support battery swapping, the automaker has collaborated with OMC Power Pvt Ltd in major metro cities like Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai.
"With the option of battery swapping we are addressing concerns related to lack of charging infrastructure and range anxiety," Yogesh Mathur, director of sales and marketing at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said .
Similar to Hero MotorCorp's, Honda is adopting a phased expansion strategy to roll out its vehicles across the country, starting with Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. The booking for Activa E will start in January 2025, while deliveries will start from February 2025.
Currently, the penetration of electric vehicles in the two-wheelers is around 6-7%. Two-wheelers and three-wheelers are witnessing faster adoption of electric vehicles in India with strong demand in the last-mile delivery segment and demand incentives provided by the government. Over 10 lakh electric two-wheelers have been sold in India this year.
Ola Electric, which launched its first B2B product on Tuesday, is the market leader in the electric two-wheeler market with a share of around 30%, followed by Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor and Ather Energy. Ola Electric now has two models in its portfolio with several variants.
Honda’s major competitor and India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp debuted in the electric vehicle market in 2023 with Vida brand. Its portfolio now has one electric scooter model Vida V1, which comes in two variants priced between Rs 1.03 lakh and Rs 1.30 lakh.
Hero MotoCorp has recently unveiled its second electric scooter Vida Z. The company plans to expand its operations to the UK and Europe, starting with the Vida Z in the second half of 2025.
READ MORE: Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India targets to produce 1 lakh electric scooters in 2025
READ MORE: HMSI to adopt phased rollout of E2Ws, eyes to cover 50% EV market in first year