Honda’s battery swapping stations are still in nascent stage and it is quite impossible to free yourself from Honda’s walled garden if you want to charge an Activa e by yourself. That might change soon as the company may introduce a charging dock to charge these proprietary battery packs at home or any other place of your choosing.
This is a potential solution for Indian market and HMSI (Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India) has not officially confirmed it. The speculation arises from Honda CUV e, an electric scooter for Europe, which comes with a portable charging dock that allows you to charge these swappable battery packs anywhere you like. Let’s take a closer look.
Honda Activa e Home Charging
HMSI won the race and became the first Japanese electric scooter manufacturer operating in India. In this race, however, Honda seems to have hurried things up and missed the bigger picture as Activa e can only be charged from Honda’s proprietary battery swapping stations. Unlike Honda QC1, which gets a 330W off-board AC charging.
In Europe, Honda just commenced the sales of CUV e electric scooter which comes with a portable dock that allows users to charge these battery packs at their convenience. Both Activa e and CUV e bear slightly different exterior styling, but comparable powertrains underneath with two removable batteries and come without a built-in charging solution.
With CUV e, Honda offers a total of 2.6 kWh total capacity, split between two 1.4 kWh swappable battery packs. With Activa e in India, Honda offers a 3 kWh total capacity, split between two 1.5 kWh battery packs. Implementation of these swappable battery packs is almost similar between both vehicles.
Home charging for Activa e in India?
Looking at the solution Honda has carved out for Europe, potential Activa e buyers in India can be hopeful that the company will bundle a solution like this here. It is needed because Honda Activa e completely depends on the swapping stations that are currently only seen in Bengaluru and are quite few in number.
If a buyer wants to charge Activa e at their house or apartment or at office, they are simply helpless as of writing this article. If the company implements a similar charging dock solution for India, it could nudge more buyers to look at Activa e. Which we feel is needed as these EV buyers are spoiled with choices that offer a lot more features and technology, while undercutting Activa e in pricing.
Also read – Honda Activa e battery rental prices reduced
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
