Honda Activa Electric, costs Rs. 1.20 lakhs (ex-showroom) and what's unique about it, is the fact that you cannot charge it at your home! Yes, you heard that right. The Activa e: can only be juiced up via battery swap at the dedicated swap stations put up by Honda. And if you are wondering what the swap plans look like and how much you need to pay, this is where you need to be. Let's deep dive and check the thing on real ground.
Also Read- Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG Clocks 50k In Sales: What Makes It Popular!
Honda Activa Electric Battery Swap Plans
Honda launched two electric scooters, the Activa e: and the QC1 models. While the QC1 can be charged at home conventionally via the charger, the Activa e: can only be topped up by swapping the discharged battery with a charged one at swap stations. And now, the charges for the same are out where you will be provided with two Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) rental plans. Upon the Activa e: initial rollout, Honda established a network of e: Swap battery stations, with 231 locations in Bengaluru, 110 in Delhi, and 28 in Mumbai.
To facilitate battery swapping, Honda offers Battery as a Service (BaaS) subscription plans for Activa e: owners. These include a basic plan, priced at Rs 1,999 (+GST) per month for 35 kWh of energy, designed for daily commutes of up to 40 kilometers. For riders covering distances of up to 100 kilometers daily, an advanced plan is available at Rs 3,599 (+GST) per month, providing 87 kWh of energy.
Plan | Battery Pack | Range | Charges Per Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Basic BaaS | 3 kWh (2 × 1.5 kWh) | Up to 40 km/day | Rs. 1,999 + GST/month (35 kWh) |
Advanced BaaS | 3 kWh (2 × 1.5 kWh) | Up to 100 km/day | Rs. 3,599 + GST/month (87 kWh) |
Features & Price
The Honda Activa e: boasts a 7-inch TFT display, navigable via handlebar toggle switches, which integrates with the Honda RoadSync Duo app for features like turn-by-turn navigation and music controls. Further enhancing convenience is the Honda H-Smart key, providing functionalities such as Smart Safe, Smart Find, and Smart Unlock, and a few more loadings.
The Honda Activa e: is available in two distinct variants. The standard trim is priced at Rs. 1.20 lakhs (ex-showroom), while the RoadSync variant, which includes connected features, is offered at Rs. 1,51,600 (ex-showroom). Both variants utilize two 1.5kWh swappable batteries, providing a combined 3kWh capacity and a claimed range of 102 kilometers per full charge.
Activa Electric: More Details
.jpg)
Merits and Demerits of Swappable
The first and foremost merit of the swappable batteries is that you get a hassle free top up for your scooter. However, the swap stations are still limited in India. So, if you are considering Activa E for buying, then make this decision based on which city you live in. As tier-2 and tier-3 cities are still behind in this tech.
Now let’s do some competition check with Hero Vida VX2 Plus (4.4 kWh) which is priced at Rs. 1.18 lakh (ex-showroom). We took a bigger battery pack electric scooter, the reason is in maths. If you are riding Vida VX2 Plus with 4.4 kWh battery pack, you have a range of 187 km (IDC), but still in real world it would be around 130 km. Now, we consider a 40 km per day ride, similarly according to Activa E basic plan of Rs. 1,999 (35 kWh) for swappable charging.
Hero Math
Metric | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
Efficiency | 4.4 kWh ÷ 130 km | 0.0338 kWh/km |
Daily consumption (40 km) | 40 × 0.0338 | 1.35 kWh/day |
Daily charging cost | 1.35 × Rs. 10 | Rs. 13.52/day |
Monthly charging cost | 40.62 × Rs. 10 | Rs. 406.15/month |
Monthly cost with 10% power losses | 406.15 × 1.10 | Rs. 446.77/month |
A run of 1200 km on a monthly basis with 130 km real-world range will cost roughly Rs.450. A full charge will comfortably cover about 3 days of riding at this pace.
Real Cost of Battery Swap
On the same parameters in running these two electric scooters, we did some maths.
Period | Honda Activa e (BaaS) | Hero Vida VX2 Plus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Per day | Rs. 66.63 | Rs. 13.5 | Rs. 53.13 |
Monthly | Rs. 1,999.00 | Rs. 450 | Rs. 1,549 |
Yearly | Rs. 23,988.00 | Rs. 5,400 | Rs. 18,588 |
5 Years | Rs. 1,19,940 | Rs. 27,000 | Rs. 92,940 |
8 Years | Rs. 1,91,904 | Rs. 37,800 | Rs. 1,54,104 |
The Honda Activa e's battery-as-a-service (BaaS) subscription costs roughly 4.4x to 5x more than the Hero Vida VX2 Plus across every time period. Over 8 years, that gap alone is Rs. 1,54,104, which is more than the likely purchase price of many electric scooters.
After Math
Usually after 8 years of period electric scooters in new batteries, and with the case of Hero Vida VX2 Plus. The charge for battery replacement comes from the owner's pocket. The battery as part will cost around somewhere Rs. 50,000. But, in the case of Honda Activa E, the cost of battery replacement is nil.
Lets Conclude
Parameter | Honda Activa e (BaaS) | Hero Vida VX2 Plus |
|---|---|---|
Upfront Purchase Price | Rs. 1,20,000 | Rs. 1,18,000 |
1-Year Running Cost | Rs. 23,988 | Rs. 5,400 |
8-Year Running Cost | Rs. 1,91,904 | Rs. 37,800 |
15-Year Running Cost | Rs. 3,59,820 | Rs. 81,000 |
Battery Replacement Cost | Rs. 0 | Rs. 50,000 |
Total (Upfront + 15-Yr Running + Battery) | Rs. 4,79,820 | Rs. 2,49,000 |
End Note
Both scooters cost about the same upfront (Rs. 1.2 lakh), but Honda Activa e's battery-swap subscription costs 4-5x more than charging the Hero Vida at home. Over 15 years, even after factoring in Hero's eventual battery replacement (Rs. 50,000), Activa e still costs nearly double - Rs. 4.8 lakh vs Rs. 2.5 lakh. Activa e only makes sense for the buyer who doesn't have a facility of home charging or right space to charging.
Do you like this article?
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
