Talking at the company’s annual press conference and meeting, Honda Motor Company President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo said that the Japanese brand would debut an electric scooter in 2018, presumably as a production model.
Hachigo went on to say that Honda is working on creating what it calls a “highly convenient system for electric commuters” that includes detachable mobile batteries to facilitate quicker recharge times for electric vehicle users.
Big Red is said to be considering a partnership with courier service Japan Post to demonstrate its swappable battery system.
However, this news is not the first time that we have seen Honda exploring electric scooter systems for urban systems,, nor is it the first time that Honda has explored the technology for businesses.
Back in 2010, Honda pitched the idea of the EV-neo electric scooter, which it planned to lease to companies for use in urban deliveries. Honda has also shown an electric version of its popular Honda Cub scooter.
The Honda EV-Cub was first shown to us in 2009, and in 2016 Honda said that a production version would be two years away. Now two years later from that date, it seems that we can guess with some strong certain as to what we will see in the coming months.
The Honda Cub is easily the best-selling motorcycle for Honda, and is actually credited as being the most popular motor vehicle of all time.
So, it is not surprising to see the classic shape getting a more modern drivetrain, especially as the world’s powers grow more concerned about the effects of fossil fuels on the environment.
With Honda also working on a high-voltage charging station network design, that infrastructure when coupled to swappable battery designs, could make an electric Honda Cub scooter very practical for dense population centers.
Watch this space. This fairly benign announcement has big ramifications for the future of motorcycle transportation.
Source: Honda
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