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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![Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/54629423281_6315c46dff_k.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
Stay tuned for more!
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The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
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Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon 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:
All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.
Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.
Last year, Tesla announced a new project called ‘Oasis’, which consists of a new model Supercharger station with a solar farm and battery storage enabling off-grid operations in Lost Hills, California.
Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:
The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.
The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.
It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.
With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.
Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.
The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.
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