Honda’s first electric moped design revealed in patent filings, giving us an early look
Like most Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, Honda has been late to the electrification game. But don’t count the storied motorbike brand out just yet, as the company’s upcoming electric moped looks to be shaping up nicely based on recent IP filings.
Honda recently announced that it planned to rollout 10 different electric motorcycle models by 2025, though most of those are expected to be light electric motorcycles or electric mopeds.
Zero and Harley-Davidson likely don’t have anything to be worried about for several more years.
Light electric motorcycles and electric mopeds are much easier to produce, are subject to significantly fewer regulations, and can carry much lower price tags than are likely to entice a wider range of riders.
And now we’re getting our first look at an upcoming Honda electric moped thanks to filings the company submitted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office, according to Bennetts.
The model shown looks to borrow much of the frame and componentry seen on a previous Honda and MUJI collaboration, resulting in a classically styled electric moped.
In fact, fans of the original Honda Cub motorcycle might recognize the design as Cub-like. The Honda Cub, sold under multiple model names and several variants, is the most produced motor vehicle in the world. It was a staple of 1960s and ’70s motorcycle culture, offering young riders a low-cost and low-power two-wheeler that was perfect for urban and suburban exploration.
This upcoming Honda electric moped appears to share much of the same design ethos, yet with updated styling and a pair of pedals that should help classify it as an electric bike or moped in many regions.
The single-seater electric moped sports built-in lighting, a broad front shield to protect the rider’s legs from splashing water or road debris, a wide foot platform, and of course those stubby pedals that help exempt it from motorcycle classification.
The wheels feature a six-spoke cast design with a small hydraulic brake in the front and a rear drum brake.
The design appears to offer both front and rear suspension, and a small chain can be seen running along the rear swingarm. That chain is purely for the pedal drivetrain, as the rear wheel seems to hold a large hub motor at its center. If produced, it is likely that the pedals would go unused by most riders, and some may even choose to remove them altogether.
It is unclear what type of battery the bike will use or where it would be mounted. The seat may lift up to allow access to a rear battery compartment, but it is more likely that we’ll eventually find just a small storage compartment back there.
The underfoot area is the most likely future home for the battery, which could prove to be one of Honda’s 48V swappable battery packs that follow Gogoro’s battery design.
It’s unclear what the top speed of Honda’s first electric moped will be, but a 28 mph (45 km/h) limit seems likely. That’s the maximum allowable speed for e-bikes in the US and for Speed Pedelecs in much of Europe.
Perhaps Asia’s market is a better bellwether though, as Asia accounts for many more times the sales of electric bikes and e-mopeds than Europe and North America combined.
The inclusion of a license plate holder on the rear fender could indicate that Honda is aiming at more than just electric bicycle-class designation, and instead targeting full moped status for the upcoming two-wheeler. In many jurisdictions across North America, Europe, and Asia, mopeds have more lax license requirements but can sometimes still be required to bare a number plate for identification.
Do you think a lightweight electric moped like this could help Honda get some skin in the game when it comes to electric two-wheelers? Could you see yourself cruising your town on a modern day electric Honda Cub moped?
Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
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National Grid Renewables has broken ground on its 100 MW Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin solar farm, which will use US-made First Solar Series 6 Plus bifacial modules, will be constructed by The Boldt Company, creating 150 construction and service jobs. Apple River Solar will generate over $36 million in direct economic benefits over its first 20 years.
Once it comes online in late 2025, Apple River Solar will supply clean energy to Xcel Energy, which serves customers throughout the Upper Midwest. According to National Grid Renewables, the solar farm will generate enough energy to power around 26,000 homes annually. It will also offset about 129,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year – equivalent to taking 30,900 cars off the road.
“We are excited to see this project begin as it underscores our dedication to delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers,” said Karl Hoesly, President, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan. “This project is an important step in those goals while bringing significant economic benefits to Polk County and the local townships.”
Electrek reported in February that Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest utility, expects to cut more than 80% – and possibly up to 88% – of its emissions by 2030, putting it on track to hit Minnesota’s goal of net zero by 2040. It also says it’s on track to achieve its clean energy goals for all the Upper Midwest states it serves – Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.
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Tesla has announced that it will finally deliver 500 kW charging as it is about to install its long-awaited V4 Supercharger cabinets.
The rollout of Supercharger V4 has been a strange one, to say the least.
Tesla has been deploying the new charging stations for two years and calling them “Supercharger V4”, but it has only been deploying the charging stalls.
Supercharger stations are made of two main parts: the stalls, which are where the charging cable is located, and the cabinets, which are generally located further back and include all the power electronics.
For all these new “Supercharger V4”, Tesla was actually using Supercharger V3 cabinets. This has been limiting the power output of the charging stations to 250 kW – although
Today, Tesla officially announced its “V4 Cabinet”, which the automaker claims will enable of “delivering up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for Semi.”
Here are the main features of the V4 Cabinet as per Tesla:
- Faster charging: Supports 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, including 30% faster charging for Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles enjoy 250kW charge rates they already experience on V3 Cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.
- Faster deployments: V4 Cabinet powers 8 posts, 2X the stalls per cabinet. Lower footprint and complexity = more sites coming online faster.
- Next-generation hardware: Cutting-edge power electronics designed to be the most reliable on the planet, with 3X power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.
Tesla reports that its first sites with the new V4 Cabinets are going into permitting now. The company expects its first sites to open next year.
We recently reported about Tesla’s new Oasis Supercharger project, which includes larger solar arrays and battery packs to operate the charging station mostly off-grid.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to all Supercharger stations, and Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
It took about 8 years, but it sounds like the pieces are now getting actually in place with Supercharger V4, Megapacks, and this new Oasis project.
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Hyundai has a new secret weapon it’s about ready to unleash. To revamp the brand in China and counter BYD’s surge, Hyundai is launching a new AI-powered EV next year. The new model will be Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car for the world’s largest EV market.
With the help of Haomo, a Chinese autonomous startup, Hyundai will launch its first EV equipped with generative AI. It will also be its first model designed specifically for China.
A Hyundai Motor official said (via The Korea Herald) the company is “working to load the software” onto the new EV model, “which will be released in the Chinese market next year.” The spokesperson added, “The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5.”
In comparison, Tesla’s Autopilot is considered a level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) on the SAE scale (0 to 5), meaning it offers limited hands-free features.
With Autopilot, you still have to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel, or the system will notify you and eventually disengage.
Haomo’s system, DriveGPT, unveiled last spring, takes inspiration from the OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT.
The system can continuously update in real-time to optimize decision-making by absorbing traffic data patterns. According to Haomo, DriveGPT is used in around 20 models as it looks to play a bigger role in China.
Hyundai hopes new AI-powered EV boosts sales in China
Electric vehicle sales continue surging in China. According to Rho Motion, China set another EV sales record last month with 1.2 million units sold, up 50% from October 2023.
Over 8.4 million EVs were sold in China in the first ten months of 2024, a notable 38% increase from last year.
BYD continues to dominate its home market. According to Autovista24, BYD accounted for 32.9% of all PHEV and EV (NEV) sales in China through September, with over half of the top 20 best-selling EV models.
Tesla was second with a 6.5% share of the market, but keep in mind these numbers only include plug-in models (PHEV).
Like most foreign automakers, Hyundai is struggling to keep up with the influx of low-cost electric models in China. Beijing Hyundai’s sales have been slipping since 2017. Through September, Korean automaker’s share of the Chinese market fell to just 1.2%.
Last month, Hyundai opened its first overseas digital R&D center in China to help kick off its return to the region.
According to local reports, Hyundai is partnering with other local tech companies like Thundersoft, a smart cockpit provider, and others in China to power up its next-gen EVs
With its first AI-powered EV launching next year, Hyundai hopes to turn things around in the region quickly. The new model will be one of five to launch in China through 2026.
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