India is buzzing with excitement to witness the launch of the Honda Activa EV. This highly anticipated electric version of the popular Activa will be unveiled on the 27th of November. Recently, the company has installed a new electric battery swapping terminal in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and a video showing it has been shared online. Prior to this, we also saw a teaser from the company showing the Activa EV’s dual swappable battery setup.
The video showing the Honda electric battery swapping terminal has been shared on YouTube. It comes courtesy of Jayanth Shivshankar on their channel. In this short clip, we can note that there are two terminals beside each other with Honda e:technology lettering.
In total, there are twelve battery pack slots. There is also a screen on top of the left terminal, which will be used by the owners of the Honda Activa EV to utilize the swappable batteries. Currently, these battery swapping terminals are used by Honda EM1 electric scooter owners, which come with swappable batteries.
Honda has been installing these terminals since 2022
Back in 2022, Honda Power Pack Energy India Private Limited, which is owned by Honda Motor Company and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), started installing these battery swapping terminals. These terminals are located in various Hindustan Petroleum fuel stations.
Initially, these battery swapping terminals were installed for e-rickshaws. However, leveraging the battery swapping technology, Honda will be offering its newest electric scooter, the Activa EV, with dual swappable batteries. As stated, currently, Honda EM1 offers the same.
How does battery swapping work?
Battery swapping is not a new concept. Apart from Honda, Bounce Electric scooters also use this convenient technology. In this, the buyers of electric scooters and e-rickshaws do not have to pay for the battery. The benefit of this is that they do not incur the upfront costs of owning a battery pack.
As for the main benefit, when the users are on the road and notice that they are running low on battery, instead of going to a charging station or back home to recharge, they can simply reach their nearest battery swapping terminal and switch their drained batteries for fully charged ones.
Honda Activa EV: Details
Honda has been sharing new teasers of the Activa EV, which will be unveiled on the 27th of November. In the most recent teaser, the company has showcased that the charging point for the battery of the Activa EV will be conveniently placed on the side. There will also be a flap that will protect the charging port from dust and water.
In addition to this teaser, the company has also released another teaser in which it showed a person swapping one of the two batteries from the Honda Activa EV. As for the other details of the Honda Activa EV, they have not been revealed by the company.
Although, it is believed that the upcoming Honda Activa will be based on the CUV e: electric scooter, which was recently showcased at the EICMA 2024. The electric scooter showcased in Milan shares a lot of similarities with the vehicle shown in the teasers by Honda.
Will Honda Activa EV become a hit in India?
Currently, the Honda Activa ICE is the segment champion, and it has always been on top. For this reason, there are high hopes for the Activa EV. Although prior to its official unveiling and judging by the teasers, it could be possible that the dual swappable battery design of this model could be disappointing for a few people.
Many people look at the Activa as the perfect city commuter because of its ample storage space under the seat. However, with this dual battery setup, this space will be sacrificed for better range. Now whether people prefer it over other EVs or not is unknown.
As for the other details, the Honda Activa EV will be launched with a 6 kW electric motor, which will offer it a top speed of 80 kmph. Also, there will be two riding modes—standard and sport. The Activa EV will also get a fully digital instrument cluster, which will provide information such as battery status and ride mode, and there will also be a home button.