Honda recently announced their foray into the electric scooter segment by taking wraps off the Activa e:. Based on the popular Activa nameplate, the scooter had ample chances of rising to success. Honda, however, seems to have missed the opportunity by equipping it with some major inabilities. The Activa e: comes with battery swapping technology and the same could do it harm in terms of future sales. You’ll know what we are talking about when you realise that this scooter cannot be charged at home!
Battery Swapping: What Is Wrong With It?
The Activa e: gets swappable batteries, which can be pulled out and put to charge at the swapping station. In other words, it comes with batteries that can be swapped with freshly charged ones from a swapping station. In this model, you don’t own the battery packs, nor do you pay for them.
Every time your scooter runs out of charge, you would need to take it to a swapping station and swap batteries. This means that there is no option to charge the vehicle at a home/office charger. This is obviously inconvenient compared to home charging. Detaching and putting back the batteries are both easy. The actual battery is packaged well in a safe tight casing for the ease of removal and putting back and the swapping stations too have smartly designed equipment.
The scooter gets two battery packs- or 1.5 kWh capacity each, weighing 10 odd kilos per unit. Honda says they have steered away from giving it home-charging capability because they wanted the EV scooter to function like a petrol scooter, where instead of filling petrol, you’d fill freshly charged batteries. It thus, doesn’t need the home-charging option- why home-charge it when you can swap batteries on the go?!
The idea seems interesting. However, the infrastructure here seems to be too nascent for its commercial success or practical feasibility. Even in Bengaluru, where Honda has already set up swapping stations, the number is low and it could easily run into cluttering or shortage if the scooter gains sudden sales traction. The distance between the swapping stations is another key concern. For you to comfortably own the Activa e:, you should have a swapping station in close proximity.
The swapping doesn’t come for free. Honda has already announced charges and a set tariff for swapping services. Going forward, these could grow bigger than those of home charging. Another major challenge that the swapping system throws at you, is the condition and quality of batteries being supplied from the station. You and I know that batteries degrade over time and with usage, and it remains to be seen how Honda is going to tackle this challenge. Swapping with a deteriorated battery pack could bring additional headache to the user.
Advantages Of Battery Swapping
We do not intend to say that battery swapping is a bad idea altogether. There are definitely good sides to it. Swapping makes EV ownership easy and convenient for people who do not have dedicated parking slots or chargers available, and for those who somehow find it difficult or inconvenient to install a home charger. Also, it gives you a more convenient option in case if you run out of charge mid-way. You can then pop out the batteries and take an auto to the nearest swapping station and get fresh ones. This is significantly more convenient than having to bring the entire scooter home on a tiny flatbed, to get it charged again.
Honda Activa e: Specifications
The electric Activa comes with a side-mounted electric motor. Together, the two battery packs add up to a combined capacity of 3 kWh. This is enough to return a total range of 102 km per charge. Plus, the two batteries discharge simultaneously.
