At a time when several OEMs are pushing for continued government support in the form of demand incentives for faster electric vehicle adoption, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is developing its EV portfolio in such a way that the product remains sustainable and its prices are competitive even without government subsidies.
- Activa e: and QC1 are the first set of electric two-wheelers by HMSI
- While Activa e: has removable batteries, QC1 has a fixed battery
- Bookings for both these e-scooters will start in January
Honda Activa e:, QC1 pricing to be revealed next year
“We developed our products, keeping aside any kind of subsidy. We develop everything without any government intervention in terms of our products. Our pricing strategy will not be dependent on any government subsidies,” said Yogesh Mathur, director for sales and marketing at HMSI, while launching the company’s first set of electric two-wheelers.
Government subsidies in the form of demand incentives and waiver of registration fees have been very instrumental in driving the early-stage adoption of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The Centre has been providing incentives since 2015 through FAME, EMPS and PM E-Drive schemes, and several OEMs have been saying that subsidies need to be continued for the industry’s sustained growth.
Earlier this year, Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta said the EV market is still in its early stages, and he believed that subsidies will be necessary for a while to help the industry grow. Once it reaches a point where it can sustain itself financially, subsidies can be gradually reduced, he had said.
Honda has introduced the Activa e: and QC1 as the first set of its electric two-wheelers for the Indian market. Activa e: comes with a swappable battery solution, and the QC1 has a fixed battery. The company has yet to announce the pricing for both models.
Currently, the government’s 2-year PM E-Drive scheme provides a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per kWh to electric two-wheelers with fixed batteries, subject to a cap of Rs 10,000 per vehicle. The subsidy will be tapered down to Rs 2,500 per kWh with a cap of Rs 5,000 per vehicle from April 2025. Senior government officials said the incentives are unlikely to be extended beyond FY2026.
“We will start the booking for both the models in January. At that time, we will be announcing the price because we need to gauge in terms of the response from the market and price it accordingly. But the pricing will be affordable,” he said.
Ved Janve
Vishal Venugopal
Dinshaw Magol
