Honda will ramp up its electrification efforts by launching more than electric motorbikes by 2030 – which will include a range of Europe-bound sport bikes.
The Japanese giant is the world’s largest motorbike manufacturer, and is planning a massive ramp-up of its EV line-up in a bid to sell reach one million annual electric motorbike sales within five years – and 3.5 million by the end of the decade. That would represent 15 per cent of Honda’s global motorbike sales.
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While Honda will continue to develop and sell combustion-engined bikes, the rollout of a fleet of new electric bikes is a response to the rapid growth of the e-motorbike market. The machines are also set to feature innovative technology, potentially including both swappable batteries and solid state batteries.
Honda’s new range will span three different categories according to their top speed: up to 15.5mph Electric Bikes (EB), 15.5-30mph Electric Mopeds (EM) and more than 31mph Electric Vehicles (EV).
The electric motorbikes are just one part of Honda’s electrification ambitions, which include a range of electric cars – and also robots and eVTOL craft.
Here’s what Honda is planning to launch.
Two commuter EV models
Honda already offers a range of business-use electric bikes, which will build on the success of the Honda e: Business Bike series. That includes delivery bikes developed for Japan Post and Vietnam Post, including the Benly e that will launch in Thailand before the end of the year.
The business bike models use Honda Mobile Power Pack swappable batteries.
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Honda also says that it will launch two commuter EV models – which means they will have a top speed of more than 31mph – across Asia, Europe and Japan between 2024 and 2025. The machine will be designed “for personal use”, and will offer “unique added-value to accommodate the needs of the respective market”.
While Honda has developed its swappable batteries, it believes that technology is best-suited for business use. In anticipation of new technology, it says that it is investigating “a range of future personal-use models”, which will include “ones equipped with a power source besides swappable batteries”.