Honda unveiled the Activa Electric or Activa E last week, just one day after India’s largest electric scooter maker Ola Electric launched the S1Z, at a hyper competitive introductory price of Rs. 59,999 for the base trim and Rs. 64,999 for the higher S1Z+ trim.
While expectations around the Activa E were sky high – it’s a Honda after-all – the unveil was quite underwhelming to say the least. One, prices for the Activa E were not revealed. Two, Honda seems to have missed a huge opportunity with its first electric scooter for India thanks to the inability of charging it at home, despite it getting swappable batteries.
So, someone buying the Activa E has to rely on Honda’s new swapping station network, which is at its infancy currently. Honda claims that more swapping stations will be set up across the nook of cranny of India, through which Activa E owners can swap out their used batteries for fresh batteries, and then resume their commute.
Even assuming that Honda gets its swapping network in place before the actual price announcement and deliveries of the Activa E, owning the electric scooter is literally like owning a petrol powered scooter, for one would have to visit the swapping station every time charge level falls low. So, the usable battery range reduces further, to just about 80 kilometers as one would want a factor of safety of at least 20 kilometers.
Let’s consider a real-life scenario.
Honda, with its 3 kWh battery pack, promises a real world range of 102 kilometers for the Active E. Straight off the bat, it’s a 50 % lower figure than even the Activa Petrol’s range per tank.
Assuming that the Activa Petrol delivers around 40 kilometers per liter and its tank capacity of 5.3 liters, using 90 % of fuel means the Activa Petrol can realistically do about 200 kilometers before the need for refueling.
And petrol bunks are quite densely spread across the city. They’re literally at every corner, which means that a Activa Petrol owner can literally go in for refueling with less than half a liter fuel left in the tank.
On the other hand, the Activa E buyer will have to reach a battery swapping station, the likes of which are few and far in between. Even assuming that Honda sets up and scales up such swapping stations across major cities, it’s unlikely that such stations will become as densely spread as petrol bunks.
Then, there’s the matter of far flung cities and towns, where swapping stations may not make sense at all given the low volumes of scooter sales such places deliver. Another unknown is the quality of batteries that swapping stations will offer.
Even assuming that all batteries are the same, what about the cost of swapping. Battery swapping networks – being commercial users of electricity – typically pay more than a home user.
So, each unit of electricity will generally be more expensive at a battery swapping network than at home. This means a higher cost of electricity, which the customer will eventually have to bear as those operating battery swapping networks will want to turn a profit. There are no free lunches.
Advantage Ola!
Ola Electric offers not one but two swappable batteries on the S1Z and S1Z+, just like Honda does with the Activa E, but with a key difference.
Both batteries can be removed from the scooters, and can be charged at home, at work or at any place that has a three pin socket. This is a game changing move as this opens up a new range of possibilities for those who own these electric scooters.
One. Even those who live in rented accommodations with no access to a charging point can simply carry the batteries home, recharge them, and bring them back to the scooter, and ride on.
Two. Many apartment complexes, especially the older ones, do not have access to charging points at parking lots. This means that the Ola S1Z/S1Z+ buyer can simply carry their batteries home, recharge and refit them, and ride on. That’s as easy as charging a smartphone.
Three. Cost of electricity at homes are typically lower than at commercial establishments. This means that charging the swappable batteries of the S1Z/S1Z+ at home will be a lot more cost effective. Again, advantage Ola Electric.
The grapevine has it that the Activa Electric would be priced at nearly 1 lakh rupees, or more. This means that it’ll be about 30 % pricier than an equivalent Ola S1Z+ electric scooter with two swappable batteries. On the Ola you even get 14 inch wheels, which makes for better road holding and handling even as the Activa E offers just 12 inch wheels.
All in all, the Ola S1Z+ seems not just better value-for–money assuming a 1 lakh price tag for the Activa E, but also a scooter that is way more practical for urban use. Honda, on first glance, seems to have gotten it wrong with the Activa E, and it’s too late to fix anything as the first deliveries are slated to happen at Bengaluru from April 2025.
It’s only in April 2025 that prospective buyers will be able to buy the Activa E in Delhi and Mumbai. Clearly, setting up a battery swapping network is going to take time. On the other hand, anyone with a 3 pin power socket at home in any part of India can book the Ola S1Z/S1Z+ right away, and take delivery starting April 2025.