At the launch of the new Activa e: and QC1 electric scooters, Honda stated that deliveries for these would begin in February 2025. However, a more recent announcement made the next day by Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd (HEID) suggests that this will not entirely be the case.
- Activa e: and QC1 will be sold via existing Honda Red Wing outlets
- While QC1 will be widely available, Activa e: will be sold only in 3 cities
- HEID targets to have 500 battery-swapping stations by March 2026
Following the Activa e:’s launch, HEID announced that it plans to set up its battery-swapping stations in Mumbai and Delhi only by April 2025. Given that the new Honda Activa e: cannot be charged at home and can only be powered by batteries from a swap station, it is fair to assume that the scooter cannot be sold in a city that does not have the swapping infrastructure in place.
So, while Honda initially stated that the Activa e: would be available in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi from February 2025, it appears that sales will actually begin on that date only in Bengaluru.
However, the Honda QC1, which is the other e-scooter with a fixed battery, should be widely available across the country from February onwards. Honda will sell both these electric scooters out of its existing Red Wing dealerships.
As for the battery-swapping infrastructure, HEID president and CMD Takuya Taniguchi said, “HEID would focus on three actions, which are continuously expanding its battery-swap network, ensuring reliable service with a highly integrated system monitoring every unique battery and exchanger, and supporting customers to ensure superior battery-swap experience.”
HEID has about 85 operational battery-swapping stations in Bengaluru and plans to expand that number to 500 stations across Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai by March 2026.
Click here to read more about the Honda Activa e:, or here to know more about the Honda QC1.
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
Dinshaw Magol
Vishal Venugopal
