For quite some time now, Honda has been making perfectly clear that it has intentions of going green—both in terms of its two- and four-wheeled offerings. In fact, the big wigs from Honda's motorcycle department in Japan stated that they plan on releasing ten new electric two-wheeler models by 2025.
Indeed, at a glance, this may seem like a hefty claim. However, if you examine Honda's gas-powered two-wheeler lineup, particularly those available in Asia, you'll come to the realization that Honda has a lot of bikes to base its upcoming electric two-wheelers on. Well, for the 2023 model year, Honda has done just that. It has released pedal-assisted versions of three of its popular scooters—the Dax, Cub, and Zoomer—in the Chinese market.
The new models include the Cub e:, Dax e:, and Zoomer e:, which are electrified versions of three of Honda's most successful small-displacement scooters. These three new e-bikes appear to be incredibly unique and attractive, similar to previous Honda electric two-wheelers such as the S07 and the Muji x Honda e-bike. Now, Honda's press release doesn't go into the specifics about the new e-bikes, as I suspect it's planning a much more grandiose launch for these models in the Chinese market.
That said, we can more or less deduce the level of performance these bikes bring to the table through their classification. You see, in China, there are three classifications for electric two-wheelers. EB, or Electric Bicycle; EM, or Electric Moped; and EV, or Electric Vehicles—wherein electric motorbikes fall under. Honda explicitly states that the three new models fall under the EB category, which means that their speeds are limited to 25 kilometers per hour, or 15.5 miles per hour.
According to Honda, the new Cub e:, Dax e:, and Zoomer e: are designed to appeal to today's on-the-go generation, with the young Generation Z in mind. For those of you unaware, Gen Z-ers comprise folks born from 1997 onwards. Given this, we can expect Honda's electric bike models to be priced rather competitively, as they're entry-level machines that don't require a driver's license to operate. Having said that, it's yet uncertain whether or not Honda will release these models outside of China.
