It’s launching new EV two-wheelers specific to the Indian market, among many other things.
Honda has been enjoying quite a lot of success in recent years. For instance, in 2023 alone, the company sold more than 18.8 million motorcycles, making it one of the biggest motorcycle manufacturers on the face of the earth. The reason why it’s so big is because unlike in the US, where motorcycles are seen mostly as toys and luxuries, over in Asia, motorcycles are a necessity.
If you’ve been anywhere in Asia—be it India, the Philippines, Indonesia, or Vietnam, you’ll notice tons upon tons of bikes roaming the streets. As such, it’s really no surprise that out of the 18 million motorcycles Honda sold in 2023, 16 million of them were sold within Asia. Let that number sink in, as it’s pretty crazy.
That said, with Honda’s incredible reach in the continent, it’ll be relatively easy for it to get its innovations into the mainstream. And this is exactly what Honda plans to do: a full-scale EV rollout in India.
Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: stands as a strong piece of tech to drive e-mobility forward.
Honda’s plans for India and other parts of Asia are so big, in fact, that it plans to release more than 30 electric motorcycle models by 2030—that’s just five years away. It says that India continues to be one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for electric motorcycles in the entire world. And for Honda specifically, India’s one of the biggest key markets. To put this into perspective, Honda has more than 6,000 sales and service outlets in the country, and more than 63 million customers. That’s nearly double the number of people living in California.
To that end, Honda is eyeing even more expansion, looking to up its game against some of the more established players who call India home. To do this, Honda opened a new R&D center in Bengaluru in 2024, and the center was built to cater specifically to the company’s electrification efforts.
The QC1 is Honda’s accessible electric commuter designed for everyday use.
Honda isn’t wasting any time, either, as it already announced not one, but two new electric models for India. The Activa e,: based on the massively popular Activa scooter, will be a mass-market model that will make use of the Honda Mobile Power Pack e:. It will likely pack a bunch of tech, too, like Bluetooth connectivity, regenerative braking, and other features you’d expect to find in a premium electric scooter.
Then there’s the QC1, an electric two-wheeler with a fixed 1.5 kilowatt-hour battery. This thing’s essentially a stripped-down version of the Activa e, and is designed to make Honda’s electric offerings even more accessible to the masses.
And to support the new India-specific models, Honda is collaborating with India’s OMC Power as part of its “Make In India” initiative. The program aims to develop a circular economy, where used batteries will eventually be repurposed and recycled for off-grid power in homes, schools, and other establishments. It’s a smart and simple way of adding a long-term plan into the mix, and one that goes beyond just mobility.
Honda unveiled two interesting electric concepts at EICMA 2024.
So yeah, Honda’s plans for India certainly seem pretty big. But what about the rest of the world? Well, for Indonesia and Vietnam, Honda plans to launch the CUV e: and ICON e: models, both with the option of either fixed or swappable batteries. Meanwhile, over in Europe, Honda is eyeing the launch of the CUV e: and the EV Fun and EV Urban Concepts we talked about previously.
So there you have it. Honda seems to be fully committed to going electric, and it seems like it isn’t letting anything get in its way. Comment below what new electric motorcycle you’d like Honda to bring to the US. Personally, I can’t wait to see the production version of the EV Fun Concept, as it looks like the most fun (as its name would suggest) among all of Honda’s proposed EV motorcycles.
