Honda EV-Neo Electric Scooter targets Asian Market

Honda Motors unveiled an all-electric scooter on Tuesday that it hopes will catch on in China, where motorbikes are increasing in popularity. Called the EV-neo, the zero-emission scooter is designed to be mass marketed for commerical users in Japan first, with sales beginning there in December. It is reported to have a 30 kilometer range on a full charge that is held by lithium ion batteries.  The batteries can be recharged with a rapid charger to eighty percent in twenty minutes or, if using a normal wall socket, within four hours.

With a projected demand in China for 17 million motorbikes a year, Honda is hoping to launch their EV-neo for about the same price as a gas-powered scooter in the hopes that it will catch on quickly in Japan. To meet the December deadline, the general manager of motorcycle operations for Honda admitted, "we'll need to work on the cost and performance further to make it commercially viable."

Honda has commissioned Toshiba to supply their batteries after having learned lessons form Yamaha's mistakes that resulted in the recall of all motorbikes sold between 2002 to 2006 that used defective Hitachi lithium ion batteries.

Image credit: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association