Honda to make EV battery in India, launches battery sharing service

Japanese auto major Honda is aiming to grab a large chunk in the Indian electric vehicle market. Besides focusing on electric vehicles, the automaker is also emphasising on the supply chain side. Keeping a focus on that, Honda has launched its battery sharing service in India.

Honda Power Pack Energy India Private Limited, the company's new subsidiary for battery sharing service in India will offer service for small mobility players. In a statement on Thursday, Honda has said that it will offer battery sharing service for electric auto-rickshaws in India from the first half of 2022. Initially, the service will be available in Bengaluru and later to other cities across India in a phased manner.

For this, Honda will also manufacture Mobile Power Pack e batteries locally in India. The company claims that its service subscribers will be able to avail service from the nearest battery-swapping station to exchange batteries. With this strategy, the EV drivers will not require to wait for charging, which will reduce downtime of their business and service substantially.

Honda also claims that this new subsidiary will closely work with Honda Cars India once they launch their electric vehicles in the country. The new company will provide necessary technical information for interface to the OEM. The automaker also claims that by expanding vehicle OEMs, applications, and service areas, Honda aims to onboard more EV drivers to enhance service convenience.

Meanwhile, Honda is planning to launch as many as ten new electric vehicles over the next five years. The Japanese auto giant aims to go fully electric by 2040. India being one of the major markets with huge growth potential for electric vehicles, Honda aims to tap the segment in the domestic market