Wk 13 2025: Letter from the Editor; InsightEV Goes Premium

The Japanese-Four think Electric is just an Option.

While many in the world are entirely committing to EVs, and it is every startup’s ambition to redefine mobility with a Chinese-made electric scooter, the Japanese are working on everything – ICE, supercharged ICE, electric-supercharged ICE, Hybrids, Hydrogen powered, and Electric. This week, we try to find if there is a method to the madness.

Gunkan, Maki, Teramaki, Uramaki… – InsightEV

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.

InsightEV InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility

Lapa X: The Future Is Here

Losing weight solves many problems, like improving range, acceleration, and top speed. But tubular construction has limits. Lapa wants to redefine the scooter, taking a leaf from Maranello’s book by carving it out of carbon fiber. This week, we spoke to the Bangalore-based startup.

Is the Lapa X the Future of Electric Sports Scooters? – InsightEV

What will make an electric scooter go faster and longer? The motor and the pack are Jell-O: poke at one end, and the other gets distended; one can either solve for speed or range. But weight is magical – lower that, and everything improves. However, tubular construction has limits.

InsightEV InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility

The Strange Honda from Wuyang

With looks that only its mom would approve, the Honda WH8000D is a (sort of) electric minibike from Wuyang-Honda, one of the two Honda JVs in China. It’s a commuter/cafe racer segment motorcycle in the L3e category with 100kph+ top-speed capability.

Read about the WH8000D and more in our Daily News Impact story.

Felyx is back!

Felyx ride-sharing, now a part of the Cooltra group, has resumed operations in Amsterdam, the city where it all started. Felyx was one of the pioneers of electric moped sharing in the Netherlands till a few years back. Its ubiquitous Niu N-Series mopeds can be seen in 17 cities in the Netherlands and two cities in Belgium.

However, as has been the case with the challenging electric moped sharing businesses in Europe, Felyx faced mounting losses. Then, early this year, it lost its operating license in Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, in 2024, Felyx merged with Cooltra. Both brands operate independently by merging operations at the back end. A more than 28,000 electric moped fleet gives the combined Cooltra-Felyx a considerable heft in negotiations with vendors, like moped manufacturer Niu.

With GoSharing, the successor of Felyx in Amsterdam, ceasing operations last month, Felyx has found a back-door entry into Amsterdam. Now, 600 mopeds have been deployed.

That’s a wrap for today. This newsletter will be back next Friday. The posts on the website are more frequent.