Honda’s new electric scooter and e-bike show it’s serious about electric two-wheelers
Honda has been on a roll lately, pumping out interesting and innovative electric two-wheelers including scooters and bicycles. Could the Japanese automaker suddenly be taking the segment more seriously?
Honda is a veritable powerhouse in the automotive and motorcycle markets. But it’s no secret that the company has lagged behind many other major manufacturers when it comes to electric vehicles. The upcoming Honda Prologue is the company’s first electric SUV and its long-awaited debut appears set for next year. But it pales in comparison to the extensive lineup of electric cars, SUVs, and trucks produced by other manufacturers, many of which have already been on the road for years.
However, the company has just shown off two very interesting light electric vehicles that are targeted at a very different market: micromobility.
We’ve followed the Honda Motocompacto for several months as the small folding electric scooter has steered its way towards consumers. Just last week Honda finally opened the order books for the Motocompacto, bringing the $995 retro-inspired electric scooter to market. It may be small, but Honda sells it from its traditional automotive dealerships and treats it like any other vehicle in its catalog.
At the same time, we got our first look at an interesting electric bicycle concept from Honda, showing off how the company could enter the electric bicycle market with a promising entry. The bike eschews futuristic and difficult-to-manufacturer designs, instead opting for many off-the-shelf bicycle components that allowed Honda to focus its design energy on an innovative frame and construction.
The result was an electric bicycle that actually looks ready to produce, though we don’t yet have any indication that Honda is planning on bringing its electric bike to market.
These two examples may be the most recent, but they’re hardly the company’s only foray into electric two-wheelers. Honda has produced an electric version of its PCX electric scooter for years and more recently rolled out Honda Cub remakes that feature electric drivetrains.
The company even claims to be hard at work on developing four new electric motorcycles said to debut by 2025.
As urban landscapes become increasingly congested and the global community grows more environmentally conscious, Honda appears to have recognized the need for sustainable and efficient mobility solutions – even if that realization hasn’t made it into the company’s automotive department. Honda is diversifying its portfolio and aligning with the green transition, reshaping the mobility sector by venturing into producing electric scooters and potentially electric bicycles.
Electric scooters and bicycles offer many advantages over full-size cars (or even combustion engine scooters and motorcycles), including reduced emissions, lower operational costs, and the convenience of navigating tight city spaces. Electric bicycles even add their own significant health benefits as well. Honda’s move to embrace these platforms could suggest a strategic shift towards capturing the growing market of eco-friendly commuters, potentially signaling their growing interest in small-scale EV technology.
But the development of electric scooters and bicycles is likely more than a business expansion for Honda – it’s a signal of what’s to come. By focusing on EVs, and especially smaller two-wheeled EVs, Honda could contribute to the reduction of urban air pollution and the global carbon footprint, supporting the worldwide effort to combat climate change.
With its eyes hopefully finally set on the future, Honda may not just be adapting to the electric revolution, but could actively help shape it. A steady stream of light electric motorcycle startups has moved in to fill the void left by major manufacturers like Honda, but that doesn’t mean we should count such larger companies out.
If legacy manufacturers realize it’s not too late, they could play a significant role here. Kawasaki was late to the e-motorcycle market but recently released a pair of respectable, albeit low-powered models, showing anything could still be possible this early in the burgeoning electric two-wheeler market.
Honda appears to be aiming even smaller in the beginning with e-bikes and e-scooters, but filling that role is no less important. As the company develops and launches its small-scale electric vehicles, it reiterates the importance of key players in driving the transition towards a more sustainable and electrified future on two wheels.
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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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