Honda’s e:Ny1 SUV is the automaker’s big electric news this month, but its far from the company’s only important EV story. Two-wheel fans living in cities will be more interested in the EM1 e: scooter, Honda’s first electric two-wheeler for Europe, but one of 10 zero emissions scooters and motorbikes the automaker has promised to launch globally by 2025.
The EM1e: is definitely a scooter and not a motorcycle, both in terms of style and performance. The ‘EM’ in the name stands for ‘Electric Moped’ and bike itself is shaped like the millions of combustion scooters zipping around European cities, which is to say, bland and not remotely cool like BMW’s CE 04.
The performance capabilities are equally non-threatening. The single in-wheel motor produces a tiny 2.3 hp (2.3 PS / 1.7 kW), or just 1.2 hp (1.2 PS / 0.86 kW) in Econ mode, and the top speed is electronically limited to just 28 mph (45 kmh). Fortunately, this being an EV, there’s a chunky 66 lb-ft (90 Nm) of torque available to help you squirt ahead of scary SUVs at the lights so it should feel much punchier than the old-style 50 cc Scooters this kind of bike has replaced.
Related: BMW Debuts $11,795 Futuristic CE 04 Electric Scooter With 80 Miles Of Range
Coming from a four-wheel electric vehicle perspective the 26-mile (41 km) range looks poor, but that’s probably fine for most city journeys, which Honda estimates at 19 miles (30km) for the average student’s day use. Plus, the removable battery means you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to plug the scooter in when you live on the top deck of a 10-story apartment block.
The 50-volt battery weighs a reasonably manageable 10 kg (22 lbs), is good for 2,500 charge cycles, Honda says, and can be topped up from 25 to 75 percent in 160 minutes using the 270 W air-cooled domestic charger that can be operated inside your home. A full zero-to-full charge, on the other hand, takes six hours.
Honda hasn’t revealed a price for the EM1 e:, but we imagine it will roughly match the £3,3350 Yamaha charges for its equally stupidly named Neo’s, which fits into the same licence category.
