Honda gears up for launch of e-scooters

NEW DELHI: Major two-wheeler manufacturers are foraying into the electric vehicles space, eyeing its massive potential in a country that sells nearly 20 million two-wheelers each year.Japanese auto maker Honda is gearing up for a possible launch of electric scooters and is set to ship in one from China soon to start feasibility studies.On Saturday, Chennai-based TVS Motor Company launched its electric scooter iQube in Bengaluru at an on-road price of Rs 1.15 lakh, and earlier this month, Bajaj Auto launched its much-awaited electric scooter Chetak, priced at Rs 1-1.15 lakh in Pune and Bengaluru.“As far as electric vehicles are concerned, shortly we will be starting our feasibility survey by getting our existing scooter from China,” said Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president (marketing and sales) at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI). “It may take a year or so to complete the feasibility study,” Guleria said, without specifying the model it was looking to test locally.Honda recently unveiled the VGO — a lithium electric scooter — at the auto show in Shanghai.HMSI plans to understand Indian customer requirements, in terms of vehicle performance and infrastructure, through the feasibility study. “All these things will be evaluated in the feasibility survey. And, based on the results, we will be announcing our next direction on EV,” Guleria said.Market leader Hero Moto-Corp, too, is developing electric two-wheelers, which is expected to hit the market soon.“We were one of the first movers in the EV space when we invested in Bengaluru-based Ather Energy. We also have a strong internal EV and alternate mobility program that is being worked upon at CIT (Centre of Innovation & Technology) and HTCG (Hero Tech Centre GmbH, Germany). We are keenly tracking the market and will launch suitable products at an appropriate time,” Rajat Bhargava, head of strategy, performance transformation and global business at Hero MotoCorp recently told ET.

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