Honda And HPCL Sign MoU To Provide Battery Swapping Stations

Last Updated on March 3, 2022 by Ajinkya Bhoir

Honda has set up a new subsidiary, the Honda Power Pack Energy India, in Bengaluru to develop EVs and charging solutions. The firm has now partnered with one of India’s top oil companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, to set up battery charging and swapping stations at its outlets across the country.

Recently, Hero MotoCorp also announced a similar collaboration with BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) to offer EV charging infrastructure at 7000 plus of its fuel outlets across India. Honda could utilise some of the 14,000 plus fuel outlets owned by HPCL in addition to roughly 6000 Honda dealers to assure buyers ahead of the launch of its first electric scooter and electric three-wheelers in India.

Honda and HPCL are working towards starting the Battery as a Service (BaaS) business on a commercial basis in the first half of 2022 in Bengaluru, India. Initially, the company will be focusing to provide the battery swapping service to its commercial three-wheeler customers and will later expand to the two-wheeler segment. Customers can visit any designated Honda dealer or HPCL retail outlets to quickly swap the depleted battery pack for a fully charged one or could even replace their dead batteries. This would be beneficial for autorickshaw drivers who currently suffer heavy losses while waiting in long queues to get CNG refilled.

Honda is working on its removable batteries called Honda Power Pack e, which it has been testing in its Honda Benly E concept electric scooter. The tech will be implemented in its upcoming electric scooter for India, which is believed to be the Honda Activa E. The battery pack will sit below the driver/passenger seat and could be removed without any hassle. You can even charge these batteries at your home if you don’t have a charging facility in your parking space or at your workplace. Hopefully, Honda and HPCL’s charging infrastructure will be fully functional before Honda’s EVs are out. If it works out as intended, this move could prove a major threat to other rivals in the market.