Honda to launch battery service for electric tricycle taxis

Hyderabad To meet the demand of electrified mobility products and expand renewable energy use, Honda has announced the launch of battery sharing service for electric tricycle taxis in India, in the first half of next year, namely Honda Mobile Power Pack e: ("MPP e:"), new portable and swappable batteries. The company has begun demonstration testing in India in February 2021, with 30 units of electric rickshaw taxis driven for a total of more than 2,00,000 km in operation. Through this testing, Honda identified issues to be addressed and verified business viability.

Honda's battery sharing service will enable rickshaw drivers to stop by at the nearest battery swapping stations being set up in the city and swap a MPP e: with a low remaining charge for a fully-charged MPP e: It is built with features such as high versatility: It can be utilised as a power source for a broad range of compatible devices, high durability: By considering heat dissipation during continuous discharging, deterioration due to high temperature is prevented, and sufficient water resistance, vibration resistance and shock resistance are ensured under the expected normal operating environment, data utilisation: The built-in control unit recognises the conditions of the MPP e: and records the occurrence of all events. This data will be collected through the connector while MPP e: is charging and then utilised for the battery sharing operation and other secondary uses.

Minoru Kato, Chief Officer, Life Creation Operations, Honda Motor Co, said: "Honda Mobile Power Pack (MPP) has huge potential to electrify all kinds of devices including small-sized mobility products and expand the use of renewable energy. By offering a battery sharing service in India, Honda will contribute to the accelerated electrification of rickshaws and expanded use of renewable energy. Moreover, Honda will continue serving people worldwide with the joy of expanding their life's potential by further expanding the utilization of the MPP into broader areas."

The company will establish a local subsidiary in India to conduct a battery sharing service business. The subsidiary will install a number of Honda Mobile Power Pack Exchanger e: as battery swapping stations and conduct battery sharing service in the city.