HONDA PCX ELECTRIC SCOOTER W/ BATTERY SWAP TECH

 

Honda recently introduced an electric version of its PCX scooter. But this isn’t your usual, plug-in EV. The new Honda PCX Electric scooter features batteries that are designed to be easily removed when they’re spent and swapped out for fresh ones, so you can get back on the road and keep on riding.

Honda PCX Electric Scooter | Gallery

Batteries can charge separately ...

2019 Honda PCX Electric ...

You can plug it in to charge, too ...

Digital display includes range ...

No engine plumbing for a sleek look ...

That used to be cargo space ...

Honda swappable EV battery ...

Desktop charging stations ...

Companies like Renault and Tesla have toyed with the idea of hot-swappable batteries in their vehicles, with something that looked like initial success in Israel. Larger batteries with greater capacity and faster charging networks have largely made that need go away for car buyers, but urban apartment and condo-dwellers still struggle with access to charging ports- super or otherwise. That’s why an electric vehicle like this, with batteries that can be charged at home or at work, could be such a big deal.

Honda is set to launch vehicles like this, powered by a number of these “universal” swappable batteries, as part of a pilot program in Saitama, Japan. In addition to the PCX electric scooter, they’ll also launch a small delivery vehicle and a side-by-side utility vehicle as a sort of GEM-NEV competitor. Both electrified, sure, but combining other forward-looking technologies like automation and airless ATV tires. These, too, are based on production Honda models.

There’s no way to know, at this point, if the pilot program will be successful. Still, if it is, it’s easy to imagine technology like this doing for light EVs what it did for portable power tools. But I’m a bit of an optimist when it comes to Honda. What about you guys?

Do you think this is all just a bunch of CES hype that has Honda slapping a bunch of buzzword tech at existing products to make some cynical PR waves, or is Honda putting some real energy into this? Check out the other vehicles that will be part of the proposed Saitama project, below, then let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Honda Swappable Battery Tech

Source | Images: Honda, via Motorpasión.

Vanda Motochimp Electric Scooter Ideal For “Spontaneous Urban Mobility”

Vanda, an electric vehicle manufacturer based in Singapore, has a bit of a split personality. On the one hand, it offers the 1,500 horsepower Dendrobium carbon fiber hypercar built in cooperation with Willams Advanced Engineering. On the other hand, it makes the positively silly Motochimp, an electric scooter thingie with a lithium ion battery powering a half horsepower rear hub motor.

Made from extruded 6061 aluminum alloy, the Motochimp is just over a meter long with a wheelbase of 750 centimeters. It is available in your choice of colors, so long as you like red, yellow. or blue. With its high handlebars and horizontal body, it looks suspiciously like one of the reindeer in the original Rudolph Christmas special.

The company takes a decidedly upbeat approach to its newest offering.  “At Vanda Electrics, we want to revolutionize electric transport on a global scale — and Motochimp is key to that.  It’s the new face of city transport — bold, edgy, fun.” The folks a Fully Charged definitely agree. After their time with a Motochimp, they were reluctant to give it back.

The little electric scooter has top speed of less than 20 miles per hour and a range of 37 miles. The company says it can be fully recharged from a standard wall outlet in one hour (most of the world uses 220 volt AC current.) The rear motor operates on 48 volts. Sales will begin first in Japan and then gravitate to other parts of the world. Expected price in US dollars is around $2,000.

“Designed from the outset to be eco-friendly, fashionable and the antidote to traditional urban transport, Motochimp offers cost-effective city mobility, capable of being fast charged from any regular AC power plug under an hour, giving you a worry-free round trip of 60 kilometers,” Vanda says in its brochure. “This fast charging cycle means that Motochimp easily fits into busy urban schedules, capable of charging fully in a lunch hour, ever ready for fast and frequent travel.” The Motochimp is controlled by an RFID digital key and has a small speedometer attached to the handlebars next to the throttle.

Larissa Tan, CEO of Vanda Electrics, says, “Motochimp really celebrates the indie spirit of spontaneous urban mobility. It’s sustainable yet sassy, cost-effective yet cool, eco-friendly yet bursting with personality. In designing Motochimp, our original concept was inspired by a sketch from a 10-year old girl. When you’re on the Motochimp, you put enchantment back into everyday life, you see fun and wonder through the eyes of a child. We’ve really let our imaginations run free and we’re very proud of the results."

Source: Inside EVs

BMW Motorrad Concept Zero Electric Scooter (w/Video)

Electric motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles all suffer from one common problem. Batteries are inherently heavy. Carrying that weight high up it the chassis diminishes the handling of any vehicle, but it is particularly worrisome in one with only two wheels.

At the Concorso d’Eleganza at the Villa d’Este in Italy last week, BMW introduced a new zero emissions electric scooter called the Motorrad Concept Zero which the company says represents its “vision of zero-emission urban mobility on two wheels.” The first thing people notice about the concept is that is carries the battery pack as low to the road as possible for nimble handling, a big plus for a scooter designed for fighting its way through traffic.

“The BMW Motorrad Concept Zero is not based on today’s concepts, but rather meets the basic functionality needs, the technical architecture and the digital reality of today’s users,” says Alexander Buckan, the chief of vehicle design at BMW Motorrad. “The technical realities of electric drive — such as the flat energy packs in the underfloor and the compact drive on the rear wheel — allowed us to create a highly distinctive design which shapes a new segment.”

Everything about the Concept Zero scooter is as futuristic as BMW engineers could make it. Although it is not intended for production, some of its features could show up on BMW products in years to come. There is no traditional gauge cluster, for instance. Instead, information about speed and range are displayed  directly onto the windscreen via a heads up display. All other features of the bike are controlled by a touchscreen.

A special connected “rider’s jacket” allows communication with the scooter using hand gestures. The Concept Zero also knows what is in a rider’s calendar and will choose music for the journey it considers appropriate for the rider’s mood and tastes. Is it possible it could play Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf once it breaks free of traffic and gets out of the city and onto a two lane road?

Death Wish: 60 MPH Electric Scooter (w/ Video)

Thanks to Croatian media-guy Eduard Bockaj, you can now both be an adult and desperately want a motorized Go-ped and not seem like a weirdo. Meet Eduard’s creation: the MVI 2803.

Admit it. When you were a kid, you desperately wanted a motorized Go-ped. The promise of fun, the sense of independence, the thrill of the danger and agility of the thing- to a young, blossoming gear-head, the temptation was too much. As an adult, however, a 30cc engine ain’t gonna cut it. That’s why Eduard built his 90 lb. MVI electric scooter with a powerful, 10kW electric motor that gives the MVI 2803 a top speed of more than 60 miles-per-hour.

I can already feel the road rash!

World’s Fastest Electric Scooter is Not For You

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The MVI is pretty cool. Like the Scrooser, though, it’s probably not for you or me. Why is that? Well, it turns out that they’re not really available for sale, and the only way to get one is to a) be a resident of the Principality of Monaco, and b) sweet-talk Eduard Bockaj into building one for you for an undisclosed- yet, assuredly princely- sum of ducats or pesos or rubies or whatever it is they use for money in Monaco.

If you know what they use for money in Monaco, feel free to let us know in the comments section, below- since, in all likelihood, none of us live in Monaco and what we think of the MVI 2803 electric scooter probably doesn’t matter. Enjoy!

Source | Images: TechVehi.

You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda Cub EV Concept

As the old ad/saying goes, you meet the nicest people on a Honda. That was definitely the vibe people got when they saw the smiling riders who were piloting the ultra-practical Honda Cub through the urban gridlock of 1960s and 70s America, at least- and Honda seems serious about bringing that kind of positive vibe back to its US lineup. To that end, the brand has revealed it’s latest take on the classic and versatile Honda Cub, and this one is all-electric.

The styling of the new concept bike will be instantly familiar to anyone who is familiar with the world’s best-selling bike vehicle already- not to mention everyone who went ga-ga over this thing in 2009, when it first debuted as a much more whimsical concept. This latest version is much more polished than the 2009 concept, however, showing off a more production-ready body and a more finished-looking electric drive package that features a clever, practical removable battery pack.

A removable battery pack like the one shown by Honda could be critical to apartment-dwellers and office commuters who might not have access to garages or standalone charging stations.

It’ll be interesting to see if this latest “e” version of the Honda Cub comes to market- especially in the US!- but it’ll be really exciting to see whether or not this move by Honda spurs Yamaha to commit to its all-electric lineup. Time will tell …

Electric Honda Cub Concept

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  Fun, retro-tastic styling.