InsightEV Weekender: Week 15
This Weekender, we look at Zeway stopping operations, Honda EV scooters in Vietnam, Ola Electric starting production of the Roadster X motorcycle, the rocking Ryvid interview, and more...
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Introducing the InsightEV Weekender
Since we now do regular publishing nearly every week day, we decided to move the Weekly Newsletter to Saturdays. It is now the Weekender and we would focus on things that we could not talk about all week but important developments, nonetheless.
Why is the Honda ICON e: Important for Vietnam?
Daily News Impact 31-Mar-25: Honda has announced the commencement of production of the ICON e: electric scooter in Vietnam. This is an important event - a global manufacturer starting local manufacturing of an electric scooter in one of the hottest E2W markets in the world.
Wk 13 2025: Letter from the Editor; InsightEV Goes Premium
This is my most important letter to date and until next week. We are making many changes to InsightEV, enhancing our research offerings, increasing our frequency and coverage, and bringing more value to you.
Gunkan, Maki, Teramaki, Uramaki...
For all non-fans, sushis are the same - a handcrafted roll with a trinket of fish, a sliver of vegetables, short-grain rice, and seaweed. But they are not. Each has a strong character and an unmistakable identity; you remember some more than others. Clubbing them together is a cardinal sin.
Daily News Impact
26-Mar-25: Honda has an electric motorcycle...sort of. Is Zapp Electric to get delisted? Ola Electric coughs up supplier dues. Argentina extends ABS by six months
Wk 7 2025 - Honda and Yamaha dump SBMC; Gogoro Results are bad; Ola Electric's are worse
How many swappable batteries would any brand make? That's a rhetorical question. Honda has already answered that. They would only do the MPP. So it's goodbye to SBMC, which may be the consortium's death knell. With Honda and Yamaha exiting, there is not enough meat on the bone.
Is the SBMC Disintegrating?
The Europe-focused Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) was formed in September 2021 by Honda, Yamaha, KTM, and Piaggio. However, little has moved three years later, and the two Japanese founders have left. Is there a future for SBMC (and battery-swapping consortiums in general)?
Wk 5 2025 - Does Honda have a Strategy for India?
Honda's 50% market share of the Indian scooter market is handy as it enters electric mobility with the Activa e: and QC1 scooters. But the prices and the subscription plans leave everyone puzzled. They don't want to disrupt the market. Instead, Honda wants to take it apart, brick-by-brick.
What is Honda's electric play in India?
Late-entrant Honda shows no urgency in its India E2W play. Its Go-To-Market is linked with its battery-swapping network rollout. The problem is that three years after the start of the pilot, the Honda e-swap has reached only 1% of the population. Are they serious about India's E2W market?
The Circularity of Sustainability
For electric mobility to be truly sustainable, battery recycling has to be a core requirement for participants. Honda and Spiro are at least making the right moves, figuring out in the early days how their batteries would be redeployed and recycled once their charge drops to below usable.
The Year 2024 in Review
The industry takes slow yet significant strides towards electrification