Honda is building up much hype around the upcoming Activa EV- its first electric scooter for the Indian market. The scooter is scheduled for launch on November 27, 2024, in Bengaluru. New teasers have revealed key features, many of which align with those offered on the global Honda CUV e: electric scooter. The latest teaser has confirmed that the electric Activa will come with swappable battery packs and a practical range.
The teaser shows a battery being lifted from a charging dock and placed beneath the seat. This means that the Activa EV, equivalent to a 110cc scooter, will come with a dual-battery setup using Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: units that would allow quick swaps. If you recollect, we have previously seen dual battery setups on some Hero electric scooters.
Honda Activa EV: Battery Swapping Makes It Better?
The electric Activa is known to stand so close to the CUV e: that it might still make sense to use their names interchangeably. The CUV e: draws its inspiration from the SC e: Concept displayed at the Japan Mobility Show 2023. It gets two battery packs of 1.3 kWh capacities each. This makes it a total of 2.6 kWh.
For the CUV e:, the combined range output is 70 km per charge, as revealed by the manufacturer at EICMA. Against this background, the India-spec Activa EV should also deliver similar numbers. The company, however, said that the India-spec vehicle will have a range of 104km. Why the discrepancy you ask? One possible explanation could be that the quoted number is the ARAI numbers, under the MIDC cycle. If so, the actual real-world range could hover around 75-odd km.
Now take the case of Ather 450X. The top-spec delivers a real-world range of 100 km per charge. But it comes with a larger 3.7 kWh battery pack! Taking these into consideration, it is safe to expect the Honda to offer somewhere around 70-75 km in range. It will be able to charge to 75% within three hours, as claimed by the company. However, some sources suggest that Honda could offer the India-bound Activa EV with a larger battery pack than the CUV- a move that would pump credibility into the range claims.
Whatever the actual battery capacity be, the new Activa EV, with its swappable batteries will save one big pain for its owners- that of having charging points in their parking. Let us be honest, not every one of us is blessed with the privilege of being able to install a charger in our parking. The swapping tech finds a fix for this. It lets you pull out the battery easily and charge it at the convenience of your home or office. Just like how you’d do with some of your gadgets.
The downside here is that this would eat into the underseat storage. The electric Activa is likely to offer little to no room for your helmets and handbag under its seat, as long as Honda has plans of surprising us with some revolutionary innovation. This looks like a trade-off many would willingly take up, for a ‘peaceful ownership’.
Other Expected Features And Electric Motor Specs
In other features, expect the electric Activa to come with an LCD display in its lower variants and a TFT cluster in higher ones, selectable ride modes, Bluetooth Connectivity, LED headlamp, and more.
The electric motor will be capable of producing up to 6kW and the vehicle will most likely have a top speed of 80 kph. The CUV e: gets 3 ride modes- Standard, Sport, Eco. However, it is likely that the Activa electric gets just two in India.
Upon launch, it will compete with the Ola S1 series, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak, and Ather Rizta. Honda is likely to price the EV competitively, aiming to capture a significant share in India’s growing electric scooter segment.