Honda battery swapping for electric two-wheelers – the business layout

Gachaco battery swapping in Japan

The first Honda battery swapping station has been delivered to Tokyo, operated by Gachaco, launching a standardized battery sharing service in major Japanese cities.

As early as 2019, Japan’s four well-known motorcycle manufacturers Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha jointly announced that they would cooperate to launch a new lithium battery two wheeler battery swapping system and conduct cooperative research and development in swappable battery technology.

By 2022, their battery swapping business has finally ushered in further development. Gachaco, the battery swapping system, was officially launched on April 1, 2022, which also means that the battery swapping service of the above four major manufacturers officially ushered in commercialization.

According to data, Gachaco was established by Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha in conjunction with Japanese oil and metals group ENEOS Holdings. ENEOS holds 51% of the shares, Honda holds 34%, and the other three companies each hold 5% of the shares. Gachaco will mainly operate battery swap services similar to Gogoro battery swapping, using the Mobile Power Pack e: battery swapping station developed by Honda.

Gachaco mainly targets the mass market and plans to set up battery swapping stations in Tokyo and other urban areas in Japan. In order to further penetrate into daily use, the location of battery swapping stations are targeted at train stations, gas stations and other places with large traffic flow and convenient transportation.

Gachaco has also made relevant plans for the reuse of old batteries. It said that in addition to batteries used in electric two-wheelers, Gachaco also plans to expand the scope of their operations and use the eliminated batteries with insufficient battery life in private residences and some advertising equipment to maximize the battery utilization.

Although this service will only focus on Japan in the short term, it is certain that if the use of Gachaco in Japan is effectively promoted, it will definitely be expanded to overseas markets in the future.

In addition, according to data, among the electric two-wheelers released by the four major manufacturers, only Honda’s BENLY e:, EM1 e:, and GYRO e: currently use Mobile Power Pack e:. Although the battery of Yamaha’s new electric scooter Neo’s is removable, it is not clear whether it can use the battery of Mobile Power Pack e:.

Honda battery swapping in India

Following the launch of the commercial three-wheeler GYRO e: using the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: battery system, Honda has become more active in the layout of the battery swap system. Recently, Honda announced that it has developed a electric three-wheeled taxi using the Honda Mobile Power Pack e:, and it will be put into actual operation soon·

In India, as economic development and energy demand continue to expand, air pollution has become increasingly serious. The Indian government has actively promoted and expanded the use of renewable energy, and electric vehicles are one of the promotion targets.

According to the Indian transportation department, there are 8 million two-wheel taxis (tuk-tuks) registered, which are an indispensable means of transportation for people’s daily commuting. In urban areas, these tuk-tuks mainly use CNG (compressed natural gas) as fuel.

There are three major problems with current electric two-wheelers, namely short cruising range, long charging time and high battery cost. These problems can basically be solved through Honda battery swapping system to accelerate electrification and expand renewable energy.

Honda has been conducting actual tests in India as early as February 2021. After conducting more than 200,000 kilometers of test operations with 30 electric tuk-tuks, it has verified its practicality for commercial use and will launch it in the first half of 2022.

Honda Mobile Power Pack Exchangeer e: uses Honda battery swapping system for energy replenishment. The battery can be quickly replaced through the battery swapping system, allowing tuk-tuk drivers to greatly reduce the time waiting for battery charging and the risk of losing customers·

For this business, Honda has established a branch in India with battery sharing as its main business, and has set up Honda battery swapping stations in operating cities to provide rental and replacement for Mobile Power Pack e:. After the official transfer of business in 2022, Honda will cooperate with tuk-tuk manufacturers to operate in key cities first and gradually expand the service area.

Honda battery swapping in Indonesia

Apart from India, Honda has also extended its market presence to Indonesia and has plans for the growing electric two-wheeler market in the country.

After launching the Honda EM1 e: electric scooter in Japan and Europe, Indonesia is the next market it plans to step in. As of 2022, approximately 85% of Indonesian households own at least one motorcycle, and there are currently approximately 125.27 million motorcycles running across the country.

Although electric motorcycles will not yet account for a significant proportion of the two-wheelers on Indonesia’s roads by August 2023, the country is currently in a transition period. Back in 2021, Indonesian government officials announced plans to turn into an all-electric vehicle nation no later than 2050.

For this, the Indonesian government announced a massive subsidy program in March 2023 that will put 800,000 new electric two-wheelers on the country’s roads. Currently, the Honda electric scooter EM1 e: is already on sale in the Indonesian market. And this model relies on Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: battery packs that are removable, replaceable, and rechargeable. It can also use a special home charger produced by Honda.