Honda's ongoing efforts with swappable e-motorbike batteries

author: FutureCar Staff    

The field of swappable batteries for electric motorbikes is experiencing significant growth, and Honda is striving to catch up with its own design. In an effort to gain a larger international market share, Honda is introducing the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPPe:) in Indonesia.

The Honda MPPe: is a swappable motorbike battery similar to the Gogoro-style battery. It even includes its own Gogoro-style battery cabinet called the Honda Power Pack Exchanger e: (HPPEe:).

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

Although Honda's swappable battery system has been in development for several years, it has only recently gained traction outside of a few local Japanese trials. By collaborating with Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki to create a swappable battery consortium, Honda is attempting to establish its battery as a competing standard.

Honda initially attempted to introduce this battery in Europe with the Honda EM1 electric scooter, and now the company is targeting Indonesia.

Indonesia has a large population of 275 million, with most households relying on motorbikes for commuting. While electric vehicles are still a small portion of the market, the availability of more options is helping to increase the number of EVs in Indonesia. Honda aims to participate in this growth by bringing its EM1 electric motorbike to the country.

In Indonesia, Honda is offering the EM1 for sale with or without batteries. The package without batteries would likely require battery-swapping subscriptions. The EM1 without a battery is priced at approximately US $2,600, while the package with batteries included is priced closer to US $2,930.

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

Electrek's Take:

It is encouraging to see Honda finally taking electric motorbikes more seriously, although the proliferation of multiple "standards" for swappable batteries may be unnecessary. While relying on a single company to manage and profit from a battery standard has drawbacks, having numerous types of swappable batteries also has disadvantages. Honda is still in the early stages of development and appears to be following Gogoro's lead by entering countries where Gogoro has established itself. Gogoro has already completed nearly half a billion battery swaps, with almost half a million swaps per day, suggesting that they have mastered the process while other companies are still testing the waters. Some companies, including Yamaha, have even designed their scooters to accommodate Gogoro's batteries, indicating that the industry may already be leaning towards a winner.

FutureCar Staff