Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) plans to launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in India by March next year, chief executive officer and managing director Atsushi Ogata said, according to a report by the Business Standard.
The first EV scooter made by HMSI will have a non-removable battery, whereas the second iteration will have two removable batteries the CEO said. The scooter is likely to have a top speed of 50 km per hour.
“The company started working on the first model around six months ago... It will have a top speed of about 50 km per hour,” Ogata said.
Popular brands in the Indian EV market such as Ola Electric, Hero Electric, Okinawa, and Ather hold about 60 percent of the market share.
Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motors which are major players in the Indian two wheeler market have released their EVs since HMSI has not yet entered the market, Ogata explained that he does not feel that HMSI is late in developing their EVs.
“Our market share in total two-wheeler sales in India is at its highest because of a very strong portfolio, efficient dealership network, etc. So, it (launching an EV) was not an urgent matter from a business point of view,” Ogata said.
Explaining the companies motive, the CEO said that the company is entering into a new business operation (EVs), so it comes with a long-term mindset of about 10-20 years.
Ogata disclosed that the platform for the new electric scooter would be new and will not use an existing ICE vehicle's chassis, he also said that the company is focused on making EV scooters but not intent on making an EV bike.
“It will be completely new,” the top executive said. HMSI is not focusing on developing electric motorcycles right now.
The CEO mentioned that the company is also concentrating on charging points across the country to support its EV products. HMSI has 6,000 existing touch points (dealers, service points, etc) across the country and these would be equipped with battery-swapping facilities.
In 2022, Indian automobile companies sold 15.38 million two-wheelers, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) data, Ogata predicted that the two-wheeler industry in India is likely to touch the 20 million unit sales mark by 2028.
The automaker also said that it will also launch a 100cc engine bike targetting the budget segment, the CEO said
“We are currently missing in only one category: Low-end motorcycles. There is still huge demand,” the executive said. The 100cc motorcycle will be launched in March and people, especially in the rural market, will be “positively shocked” to see its price, he mentioned.
