The Honda Activa e: Launches In India! Tags Along QC1 Electric Scooter

The Honda Activa has gone electric! 

While the Indian automotive space was busy celebrating the arrival of Mahindra’s born-electric SUVs, Honda’s two-wheeler division gave them a treat with its first electric vehicles for India. The Activa e: takes forward the legendary Activa into the electric age whereas the QC1 brings Honda’s newest born-electric platform to the masses. 

While the market availability is still a few months away, Honda has documented all the technical and mechanical aspects of the Activa e: and the QC1. The price, however, is yet to be revealed. The scooters will go on sale in the Spring of 2025 and will be available via Honda’s Big Wing dealerships in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai initially. Honda is yet to unveil plans for a vast availability in other cities. 

Unlike its competitors, Honda isn’t making tall promises when it comes to battery range and performance. These electric scooters are meant to appeal to those who want a simple, affordable and efficient electric scooter for urban runabouts. Let’s quickly take a look at what both of these scooters have in store for us. 

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First up, the Activa e:

The Honda Activa e: utilises the Activa badging for one good reason – it shares the core underpinnings with its petrol-powered scooter sibling.

The Activa e: isn’t a born-electric scooter – it utilises the underbone frame architecture with a telescopic front and a monoshock rear suspension. The design elements, however, are borrowed from the CUV e:, with certain points of differentiation to make it distinct. The overall profile appears similar to the petrol Activa, except for the all-LED lighting. This is the first Activa to get an apron-mounted headlamp unit.

The Activa e: will be available in standard and Honda RoadSync Duo variants at launch. The standard variant gets a 5-inch TFT display with limited smart features and Bluetooth connectivity, weighing 118 kg. The RoadSync Duo variant gets a larger 7-inch colour display with turn-by-turn navigation and smartphone notification alerts, weighing 119 kg. 

Ground clearance stands at 171mm, with 12-inch alloy wheels on both ends. Braking duties are taken care of by a 160mm unit at the front and 130mm on the rear. 

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As far as the powertrain is concerned, the Activa e: relies on the concept of swappable batteries as the sole power source. Two units of the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: swappable battery promise a maximum range of up to 102 km on a full charge. The wheel-side motor claims to deliver a maximum output of 6.0 kW, allowing the scooter to sprint from 0-60 kph in 7.3 seconds. Flat out, this scooter can go up to 80 kph. Honda says that the overall performance profile will be largely similar to the 110cc petrol-powered Activa. 

As part of the standard feature kit, the Activa e: comes with STANDARD, SPORT and ECON driving modes. Since this is an electric scooter, a reverse mode is also present for helping with parking duties. 

Since the scooter relies on swappable batteries, Honda has begun rolling out battery-swapping stations in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai. A total of 83 stations will be present across these cities when customers start getting deliveries. Honda Power Pack Energy India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Honda, will operate the Honda e:Swap stations. Customers will need to pay per swap at these stations. There’s no mention of Honda offering an electric charging port on the Activa e:.

Also, no underseat storage like the conventional Activa.

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The fixed-battery QC1

Unlike the Activa e: and its swappable battery architecture, the QC1 will be Honda’s alternative offering with a fixed battery setup. In essence, this will be a true competitor to the Ather Rizta, Chetak 2903 and Ola S1.

The QC1 looks largely similar to the Activa e:, with the only difference being the visible charging port. The QC1 relies on a 1.5 kWh fixed battery with high-energy density battery cells, which can be charged only via a dedicated electric charging port. The compact in-wheel motor has a rated output of 1.2 kW and a maximum output of 1.8 kW. Not as peppy as the Activa e:, which is evident by Honda’s claim of 80 km on a full charge. 

Unlike the Activa e:’s lack of any usable space, the QC1 offers ample under-seat storage for helmets and shopping bags. It also hosts a USB-C charging port and an inner rack for holding things. The dashboard on the QC1 is limited to the 5-inch TFT display, with no option to equip it with the larger 7-inch colour display. 

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