Honda’s new $995 Motocompacto offers a 12-mile range, charges in three hours and folds to the size of a suitcase – but high demand appears to have caught Honda by surprise
Honda has form for producing small vehicles from its massively successful two wheelers like the C50/C90 (and still in production after 60 years), through to its monkey bikes and on four wheels the tiny N600 from the 1970s was ahead of its time for space saving and economy, writes Gary Wright.
The Japanese giant is already establishing itself strongly in the electric car market but this week it come out with a something that will either change the face of personal transport forever, or may simply be another also ran in the quest for a solution.
Meet the new Honda Motocompacto, “a fun, fresh take on e-scooters”, built-in and – currently – only for sale in the USA and you can only buy it online or through selected dealers. But you have to admit that $995 is actually quite competitive when you compare it with one of the thousands of different e-bikes on sale or even electric scooters – I mean the Lambretta/Vespa type scooter, not the crazy kids’ toys that you stand on (which have also found hundreds of thousands of buyers worldwide).
Here’s what Honda wants you to know: “Motocompacto redefines affordable all-electric personal transportation with sleek and simple styling, an innovative, ultra-compact foldable design, a maximum speed of 15 mph and zero-emissions range of up to 12 miles. Inspired by the Honda Motocompo of the early 1980s, every Motocompacto comes with a standard compact charger that can be stowed on-board.
“Motocompacto is a fun and innovative facet of the larger Honda electrification strategy. Perfect for getting around cityscapes or college campuses and for use as a first-mile/last-mile vehicle, the zero-emissions Motocompacto was designed and developed by Honda engineers in the U.S.to provide riders with easy and fun-to-ride mobility that greatly reduces their carbon footprint while offering great convenience.”
As you can probably guess, the scooter folds up and “can be stored and carried in its own compact carrying case that makes it easy to take along in a vehicle, on public transportation, or store in tight places.” It weights 18kg (40lbs).
Indeed you can keep it in the frunk of your Tesla (or insert EV of your choice), enabling some relief from EV drivers’ range anxiety so you can unfold it and go for help should your battery go flat. Or as Honda would see it, travel those last few urban miles to your destination after leaving your EV parked somewhere convenient to charge.
There have been some hiccups: dealers in the USA say it should have been available at the beginning of this month but demand has been huge and waiting lists are growing.
And some observers believe the price will probably climb a little as the $995 launch price feels like it was aimed at the sub-$1,000 market putting it squarely up against some of the cheapest e-bikes. Some customers have complained about the mark up already being demanded for the little bike.
Of course there’s a Facebook group already dedicated to the Motocompacto’s fast-growing cult following, where some people complained dealers were marking up their prices to as high as $1,950.
A salesperson at a Honda dealership in Oklahoma told the DailyMail.com they had received a rush of interest and that Honda seemingly was not prepared for the demand.
‘It’s kind of been a mess,’ he told the news website, noting that his dealership had pre-sold six and was expecting the first five to come in on November 28.
The parts department of one Honda dealership in New Jersey said they were selling the Motocompacto for $1,329 plus tax and they were also expecting a first batch at the end of November.
Another dealer in New Jersey said Honda told them they could expect a batch to arrive in mid-December, but they didn’t have information about pricing yet
Honda claims the Motocompacto’s 250-Watt motor will take it to a top speed of 15 miles per hour in seven seconds – and that it can travel 12 miles on a single charge. It can be fully charged in around three-and-a-half hours.
The folding scooter has a removable seat which can be stowed in the square body, handlebars that fold inwards and a rear wheel that extends and retracts.
Its front wheel is powered by a throttle on the right handlebar. Meanwhile its back – and only – brake is located on the left handlebar. A small ring on the bottom of the kickstand can be used to lock it up on the streets.
The Motocompacto is a throwback to Honda’s 499cc Motocompo – a small folding scooter launched in the early 1980s. Exclusively sold in Japan, it too was designed to fit in the trunk of a car – the Honda City.
Honda Electrification Strategy
The launch of Motocompacto coincides with the introduction of the company’s first fully-electric SUVs, the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, both coming to market in early 2024. Toward its global goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda will introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2030 with a global sales volume of 2 million units. In North America, Honda has laid out an aggressive timeline of EV introductions leading to 2030 and ultimately to 100% zero-emission automobile sales by 2040:
2024: Begin sales of the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, co-developed with GM
2025: In North America, a mid- to large-size EV model based on Honda’s original EV architecture will go on sale.
For more information on Honda’s corporate transformation initiatives, including electrification, click here.
More information about Motocompacto can be found at Motocompacto.honda.com.
About Honda
Honda offers a full line of clean, safe, fun and connected vehicles sold through more than 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The award-winning Honda lineup includes the Civic and Accord, along with the HR-V, CR-V, Passport and Pilot sport utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda’s electrified vehicle lineup includes the Accord hybrid, CR-V hybrid, and, in the future, Civic hybrid. The Honda Prologue SUV, Honda’s first volume battery-electric vehicle, will join the lineup in 2024.
Honda has been producing automobiles in America for over 40 years and currently operates 18 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2022, more than 99% of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, with more than two-thirds made in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
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