Honda Motorcycles’ Plans for E-Mobility – EV Next
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Introduction
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) in June 2019 has come out with an official statement to talk about the road map for electric two-wheelers in India and the company’s vision for the year 2030. The Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer says that by the end of the next decade, Honda’s aim is to lead the development of future mobility solutions that improve the lives of people everywhere in the world. And the Indian government’s efforts to promote electric vehicles (EV) is in line with the company’s global vision.
Company Profile
Honda is the world’s largest manufacturer of two wheelers. The company was established in India as Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), a 100% subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd., Japan, in 1999. The company is headquartered at Manesar, District Gurgaon, Haryana.
On February 17, 2016, Honda inaugurated the “World’s largest only scooter plant” at Vithalapur Gujarat with an annual capacity of 1.2 million units. The new plant will employ approximately 3000 people within the first 2 years of commercial production.
Product Profile
The company showcased its PCX electric scooter at the Auto Expo 2018 but is currently not keen on introducing their electric scooters in India right away.
The Honda PCX electric at the Auto Expo 2018
Future Plans
- In June 2019 Honda has stated that the focus right now is the transition to Bharat Stage VI or BS6 emission norms, which comes into effect from April 1, 2020. The company said that the industry needs more time to stabilize after BS-VI changeover before they take the next step of moving from IC Engine technology, especially considering Indian customer requirement of higher daily commuting distance and price consciousness.
- In November 2019, Noriaki Abe, managing officer at Honda Motor Company said that while the company will continue investment in its EV program for India, it will wait for the infrastructure to be developed in the country before marketing its electric two-wheelers.
- In January 2020, the company stated that the Honda PCX electric scooter will not be brought to the Indian market. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India will import one of the existing electric scooters from the Chinese market to test in our country. The company will test that EV for at least a year.
R&D
- The R&D team of Honda is working on a feasibility study for the Japanese OEM’s ‘Mobile Power Pack‘, which is a lithium-ion battery designed for usage in multiple applications. The compact battery can be used to power an electric car, scooter or just as an energy source in a camp or home. A charging module has also been developed where the user can swap the discharged battery with a fully charged one.
- There’s also a portable unit like a power generator. This unit can charge the battery and then power devices from the charged battery. The 300 x 180 x 160 mm 1 kWh battery weighs around 10 kg. Honda showcased these concepts for the first time in India at iTEC India 2017. Prior to India, Honda started its feasibility study in the ASEAN region primarily in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Global Work
There are 14 Honda electric scooter models on sale in China currently.
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