RESALE VALUES, BATTERIES, AND A 3 YEAR PLAN THAT COULD CHANGE THE INDIAN ELECTRIC TWO WHEELER INDUSTRY!
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is taking its time to understand the second hand EV market in India. As part of this it is looking at resale values, battery health and long term ownership.
Tsutsumu Otani, President & CEO of HMSI, said that “Over the next 3 years we expect the second hand EV market to become clearer.” This contrasts with companies like Ola Electric, Ather Energy and TVS Motor who are aggressively growing their EV presence in India.
Why Honda Is Looking At Second Hand EVs
The initial wave of electric 2 wheelers came to India in around 2021. This means that they are starting to enter the second hand market. Honda wants to understand how much the vehicles will lose in value and what people are expecting when they buy used EVs.
Things they are looking at include:
Resale value of electric scooters
Batteries and how they will be replaced
Long term ownership
Customer acceptance
How much value can be retained
Otani explained that “Historically in India our customers expect to own motorcycles for over 10 years. With Evs there are extra considerations around battery replacements and residual value that we want to understand.”
Battery Health
Otani said that the importance of having battery health indicators in EVs are similar to smartphones we have today. EVs will also need ways to accurately assess battery health.
Battery health includes;
Battery State of Health
Charge Cycles
Retention
Thermal Management
Cost Of Replacement
This is important as the battery is the most expensive part of an electric scooter. Often around 30-40% of the total price. Having an accurate battery health indicator will mean customers can make an informed decision when purchasing a second hand EV.
Current EV Models Offered By Honda
Currently HMSI offer 3 models;
Activa e: 2 x 1.5kWh Swappable Battery, Only Battery Swapping, Rs. 1.19 Lakh+
QC1 1.5kWh Fixed Battery, Can Charge At Home, Rs. 1.35 Lakh
QC3 – – Rs. 1.35 Lakh
The QC1 sells more than the Activa e: due to the fact it can be charged at home. The Activa e: has to use Honda’s battery swapping stations. This limits where it can be sold to cities with the infrastructure such as Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.
Honda have over 80 battery swap stations in Bengaluru however they are expanding to Delhi and Mumbai.
Low Volume Sales
Overall Honda are not selling many electric scooters at the moment. In H1 of 2026 they only sold 2,389 electric scooters. Whilst they sold 25.88 Lakh units of petrol scooters (Activa & Dio) in the first 10 months of FY2026.
Metric EV Sales Petrol Sales
H1 CY2026 2,389 –
FY2026 (10 months) – 25.88 Lakh
Market Share ~0.5% ~39%
In July 2026 HMSI only registered 940 units of electric 2 wheelers. This was only 0.5% of the total 2.06 Lakh units sold that month. This is a huge difference to the 39% they have in the petrol scooter market.
Growing Electric 2 Wheeler Market In India
Despite Honda taking their time to enter this market, the electric 2 wheeler market in India is growing quickly. Over 11.79 Lakh units were registered between January and July 2026, showing a 58.8% increase year-on-year.
Top sellers in July 2026 were:
TVS Motor – 55,892
Bajaj Auto – 45,910
Ather Energy – 30,704
Hero MotoCorp – 23,003
Ola Electric – 14,243
Honda (HMSI) – 940
Clearly Honda are not keeping up with the Indian companies who have moved quicker into the EV market. If they do not speed up they may start to lose market share.
New Electric Scooter Coming Soon
Honda are developing a brand new electric scooter for India. Based on the J1H platform this should be ready by the end of 2026. This scooter will address the issues with the Activa e: and QC1.
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Features of the new scooter will include:
Can Be Charged At Home
Similar range to the TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak & Ather Rizta
Good spec
High localisation to keep prices competitive
More widely available than the Activa e:
As this scooter will be highly localised it should be competitive in price. This could help Honda compete better against Indian companies.
Why A Strong Second Hand Market Is Important
A strong second hand market will be important for the long term growth of EV 2 wheelers in India. If people know they can resell their EV for a good price they will be more inclined to move to electric.
Benefits:
Higher Resale Value
Lower Cost of Ownership
More Confidence From Customers
Faster Adoption
Less Range Anxiety
Honda believe that if there is a strong second hand market they can continue to grow the EV market in India. This is why they are taking their time to understand the market.
Is Honda Taking Their Time To Get It Right?
There are pros and cons to Honda taking their time to get into the EV market.
Pros:
Avoid making expensive mistakes
Products will be what people actually want
Stronger base for future
Protects brand
Cons:
Losing market share to companies who have moved faster
Will give the impression they are not innovating
May miss out on the early adopters
Could struggle to catch up.
Overall Honda are taking a long term approach to getting into the EV market in India. They want to understand the second hand market so they can create products people will actually want. They are looking at resale values, battery health and ownership.
However, with companies like TVS, Bajaj and Ather moving quickly Honda may lose out on market share. However their new J1H based scooter should be ready by the end of 2026 which will be a good indicator to see if they can catch up.
For customers it could mean better products as they are focusing on battery health indicators and resale value. For the industry it could help set standards in the second hand EV market.
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