Honda's ongoing efforts with e-motorbike battery swapping

author: FutureCar Staff    

The field of swappable batteries for electric motorbikes is experiencing significant growth, and Honda is making efforts to catch up with its own design. Honda is introducing the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPPe:) in Indonesia as part of its strategy to expand its international market share.

The Honda MPPe: is a swappable motorbike battery similar to the Gogoro-style battery. It also includes the Honda Power Pack Exchanger e: (HPPEe:), which is a battery cabinet.

Honda has been slow in adopting electric vehicles, not only in cars but also in its motorcycle division.

Although Honda has developed a swappable battery system several years ago, it has not been widely used outside of a few trials in Japan. However, Honda, along with Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, has formed a swappable battery consortium, indicating its intention to position its battery as a competing standard.

Honda has already attempted to introduce its battery into Europe with the Honda EM1 electric scooter, and now it is targeting Indonesia.

Indonesia has a large population of 275 million, and most households in the country use motorbikes for commuting. While electric vehicles still make up a small percentage of the market, the availability of more options is helping to increase the adoption of EVs in Indonesia. Honda aims to capitalize on this trend by introducing its EM1 electric motorbike to the Indonesian market.

In Indonesia, Honda is offering the EM1 for sale with or without batteries. The package without batteries would likely rely on battery-swapping subscriptions. The price of the EM1 without batteries is approximately US $2,600, while the package with batteries included is priced at around US $2,930.

Honda's battery-swapping cabinets function similarly to Gogoro's, but they do not automatically recognize the user and scooter through information stored in the batteries. Instead, users need to swipe a membership card to activate the station and swap batteries.

While it is encouraging to see Honda taking electric motorbikes more seriously, the proliferation of multiple standards for swappable batteries raises questions. While it is understandable to have concerns about relying on a single company for managing and profiting from a battery standard, having numerous types of swappable batteries also has its drawbacks. Honda is still in the early stages and appears to be following Gogoro's footsteps by entering countries where Gogoro has established itself. Gogoro has achieved significant success with nearly half a million battery swaps per day, indicating that they have a strong grasp of the market while other companies are still exploring their options.

Many companies, including Yamaha, which is part of Honda's battery consortium, have designed their scooters to accommodate Gogoro's batteries. This suggests that the industry is already leaning towards choosing a winner in the swappable battery market.

FutureCar Staff