Honda Motorcycles to launch first electric two-wheeler in FY25; aims to have 1/3rd EV line-up by 2030

Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer Honda Motorcycles and Scooters will be launching an electric vehicle scooter in FY25, a top company executive told reporters on Tuesday at the sidelines of 64th SIAM convention.

According to Yogesh Mathur, Director-Marketing and Sales- Honda Motorcycles and Scooters,  the electric vehicle market is an exciting opportunity for Honda. "Till last year, it (EV) was clocking closer around 5% now it has reached almost 8% so some contribution of EV is increasing. And what we understand is that by 2030 there will be a major chunk shifting towards EV. And we also have announced that by 2030 our lineup also will be 1/3 at least, coming up only from EV," said Mathur.

As per Mathur, the 100-110 cc segment forms 1/3rd of the industry. Honda's presence in this segment has been missing for awhile despite launching Honda Shine 100 last year. The new electric two-wheeler is likely to be launched to serve the void for this segment. Mathur said that the company is not late to launching EVs as it was primarily trying to priortise its own challenges.

"We came up with Honda Shine 100, which is now giving very good results in terms of overall growth numbers. So it (business decision) was primarily in terms of,prioritizing our own, challenges and basis on that only Honda Shine was first (in 100-110 cc segment) and then going forward, we have other exciting products also coming over," said Mathur.

Meanwhile, as the industry anticipates subsidies and incentives for electrification, Mathur feels that it is unlikely to make any difference if they receive subsidies. "So it (incentives) doesn't make any difference, because our product strategy and positioning will be based on the current condition of whatever is available in the market," said Mathur.

According to Mathur, the two-wheeler industry is currently growing at 16%. "The two-wheeler industry this year is was expected to grow somewhere close down 10 to 12% but till now, it is already growing by 16%. And especially if we bifurcate that into scooters and motorcycles, scooters growth is higher than the motorcycle growth. So scooter growth is roughly around 24% and motorcycle is around 13% averaging around 16%. So this clearly indicates which area is growing. So it's primarily an urban area which is showing a positive trend as compared to the rural area," highlighted Mathur. Rural market accounts for 30-35% of the overall two-wheeler sales, according to Mathur.

Urban market driving growth

For Honda Motorcycles, scooters account for 60% of sales, whereas 40% comes from motorcycles. Honda Activa is the top selling model in 125 cc scooter segment, whereas Honda Shine 125 and Honda Glamour are the top selling motorcycles for Honda in 125 cc segment. According to Mathur, 125 cc segment, for both motorcycles and scooters, are growing faster as compared to other segments.

"Currently, the entry level motorcycle is growing by around 2% under 100-110 cc. But the major growth is coming up in 125 CC, which is growing by 55% and above 150 to 180 is declining by around -9% till now. So one is the entry level is shifting towards 125 cc. So the entry level is shifting towards 125 CC, and then the customer always upgrade to a higher category to above 150 cc," said Mathur.

Regarding exploring other technologies, Mathur said that the country's two-wheeler market is "too vesatile to accomodate all types of technologies." "There is a room for EV. There is room for flex fuel. There is room for such kind of alternate products coming in. And it will continue to grow like that, because the kind of overall size and scale of the industry is so big that everybody can have a harmonious relationship and harmonious existence in this particular category," said Mathur.