By Business India Editorial

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is lining up multiple products in the electric vehicle segment with the first model expected to make debut in March next year, company's Managing Director, President and CEO Atsushi Ogata said. 

The company, which on Monday launched a new version of its Activa scooter which conforms to the upcoming stricter emission norms, with price starting at Rs74,536 (ex-showroom Delhi), plans to come up with charging infrastructure to support its electric vehicle customers. 

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), which remains the leader in the scooter segment with a market share of 56 per cent, is also looking to consolidate its position in the motorcycle segment with the introduction of a 100 cc bike next month. 

The company is looking to consolidate its position in the rural and semi urban markets with the introduction of the bike. “We are looking to launch the first electric model in March 2024... it is being developed on a completely new platform and is based on the requirements of the Indian market,” Ogata said on the sidelines of the launch. 

The first model next year would have a fixed battery while the second one would come with a swappable battery system, he said while outlining the details about the upcoming products. Ogata said the company is considering utilising its existing sales infrastructure of over 6,000 outlets to set up charging infrastructure for its EV range and later depending on the market situation would take a call on expanding it. 

“It will not be far away from the launch of the first model. So in a very short period, we will launch new products.” On the company's plans to introduce an electric version of its Activa scooter, Ogata said: "...The concept is futuristic Activa." 

Asked about the domestic two-wheeler market, Ogata said he expects the segment to again hit the peak of 20 million volumes in the next five years.

Meanwhile, Hero Electric said it has entered into a long-term partnership with Maxwell Energy Systems for the supply of advanced battery management systems. Under the partnership, Maxwell will supply more than 10 lakh units of its battery management systems (BMS) over the next three years to Hero Electric, the company said in a statement. Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill said: "This partnership will also help us build the local supply chain and support the Make in India mission, further reducing our import dependency. With Maxwell on board, we now have two solid reliable partners to future proof our battery designs." 

Maxwell's newly designed automotive-safe BMS supports multiple chemistries and configurations to cater to the entire e2W range of Hero Electric. It also comes with additional technical capabilities such as high-side switching and hot-plugging for seamless swapping, the statement said. The two partners will work on a new range of advanced electronics products for the Indian EV market, it added.