Activa and Access electric launch on the anvil. Though late to the party the Japs are expected to bring extremely reliable products to the market…
The whole online motorcycling space is filled with this latest trend of electrification. Everybody is talking about electric two-wheelers and there have been a lot of new as well as legacy entrants in this segment.
Standing today, the big players are – Ola, Ather, Hero, Bajaj and TVS – all Indian makers. So, though you have different flavors available in the market with striking features, there is not a single Jap from the big three – Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki – which are generally considered to be very reliable.
However, this is going to change as the leader of scooters – Honda – that should have been here in this space long ago, is readying its electric roadmap. According to an official word Honda is preparing two electric models, including an electric Activa, which is likely to be called as Activa electric or e-Activa – to cash in on the popularity of the brand.
An online report suggests that Honda is readying the production line for its Activa electric. The company will open a dedicated line for EVs at its Gujarat factory and production is likely to begin from second half of this financial year. An eventual launch of the much awaited electric version of the largest selling scooter is expected towards the end of this year or early next year.
The next-in-line Jap is Suzuki which is also reportedly working on an electric version of its largest selling scooter – Access. The company has been spotted testing its Burgman electric in India many a times, however, it is reported that Suzuki will debut its electric arsenal with the most secured product – Access – which is likely to be launched sometime this year.
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While we are at it, in 2002, Yamaha’s chairman expressed his desire to have an electric scooter in the country by 2025 ie next year. You can read more details on that here.
It is big time surprising to see Japs not present here with their electric products – despite the fact that they had this tech (and many products ready) in some or the other part of the world.
But now that we are inching closer to their showdown, it will be very interesting to see how will existing rivals shape up their strategies. So, in case you are planning to go electric, you will have the Japs entering in the coming few months…
