After a long wait, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has finally entered the Indian electric two-wheeler market with the introduction of two electric scooters, the Activa E and the QC1. While the QC1 is aimed at consumers on a tight budget, the Activa E is primarily designed for personal commuting.
The Japanese company is the only major traditional two-wheeler manufacturer in India that has not entered the quickly growing electric automobile market. The price of these vehicles will most likely be disclosed in January. While the Activa E includes a swappable battery option, the QC1 has a permanent battery.
At the launch of the two new models, Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India President, CEO, and MD Tsutsumu Otani told reporters, “We remain committed to catering to evolving consumer needs in India.” “Range, safety, and performance were the main design considerations for these models,” he said.
The Activa E is powered by a 6kw direct drive motor with a top speed of 80 km/h and a range of roughly 102 km. The QC1 is driven by a tiny 1.8 kW in-wheel motor and features a 1.5 kWh lithium-ion BP cell chemistry. It has a range of roughly 80 kilometers and a top speed of 50 km/h.
Both electric scooters will be manufactured in Honda’s Karnataka facility. The automaker has four plants in India: Manesar (Haryana), Alwar (Rajasthan), Narsapura (Karnataka), and Vithalapur (Gujarat), in addition to more than 6,000 sales and service centers.
The producer of the popular Shine motorcycle and Activa scooter is India’s second-largest two-wheeler company. In 2023–2024, it sold 45.30 lakh motorcycles and scooters in India and shipped 3.63 lakh.
To make battery swapping easier, the automaker has teamed up with OMC Power Pvt Ltd in major cities like Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai.
