Honda’s thrown a lifeline to its struggling Activa e: electric scooter with a dirt-cheap Battery-as-a-Service plan that’ll make your wallet breathe easier. At just ₹678 monthly, this new Lite subscription is like finding a parking spot in CP during rush hour – rare and absolutely welcome.
Let’s be honest here – the Activa e: hasn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire. With numbers like 106 units in March and a pathetic 32 in April, Honda clearly needed to do something fast. The original BaaS plans were pricing out the very commuters who made the petrol Activa a household name across India.
What’s in the Lite Plan?
This budget-friendly option costs ₹678 per month (add 18% GST and you’re looking at around ₹800 total). Compare that to the existing Basic plan at ₹1,999, and suddenly your morning chai feels less expensive.
Here’s the deal:
- 20 kWh energy quota monthly
- Roughly 600 km range (assuming the scooter delivers its claimed 30 km per kWh)
- Works out to about 20 km daily – perfect for office-home-market runs
- Full access to Honda’s battery swapping stations
Cross the monthly limit? You’ll pay ₹70 per kWh extra (plus GST) – definitely steeper than the ₹35 charged for higher-tier plans. It’s Honda’s way of saying “stick to your quota, buddy.”
Pricing Comparison
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Energy Quota | Daily Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | ₹678 + GST | 20 kWh | ~20 km |
| Basic | ₹1,999 + GST | 35 kWh | ~35 km |
| Advanced | ₹3,599 + GST | 87 kWh | ~87 km |
Why This Matters
When Honda slapped the legendary Activa badge on an electric scooter in January, expectations were sky-high. The petrol Activa practically owns Indian roads – you can’t throw a stone without hitting one. But the electric version? It’s been more like watching your favorite cricket team lose to Bangladesh.
Priced between ₹1.17-1.52 lakh, the Activa e: packs dual 1.5 kWh swappable batteries and promises 102 km range. Sounds good on paper, right? The catch? No home charging. Zero. Zilch. You’re married to Honda’s swapping stations whether you like it or not.
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The Reality Check
Even with this new plan, let’s not kid ourselves – it’s still about four times pricier than charging at home in cities like Bengaluru. At roughly ₹1.33 per kilometer, you’re paying Ather fast-charging rates but without the convenience of plugging in overnight.
Honda’s currently playing in three cities – Bengaluru (250 stations), Delhi (150), and Mumbai (100). That’s their entire universe right now. Step outside these metros, and your shiny Activa e: becomes an expensive paperweight.
The whole battery-swapping gamble is either genius or completely bonkers, depending on how you look at it. Honda’s betting big that Indians will embrace this infrastructure-dependent approach, but early sales figures suggest most folks are still sitting on the fence.
This pricing tweak shows Honda isn’t too proud to admit when something’s not working. Whether it’ll actually get people to bite remains the million-rupee question. For urban commuters doing short daily runs, though, it’s definitely worth a second look.