Honda unveils EV-neo electric scooter, leases start in Japan in Dec. 2010

Honda yesterday took the wraps off its new EV-neo electric scooter prototype and said that it plans to start leasing it in Japan in December 2010.

The Honda EV-neo electric-scooter is equipped with a lithium-ion battery (by Toshiba) and a brushless motor that allows it to travel over 18 miles on a single charge. That means you can travel 9 miles away from your house because you’re going to need the other 9 miles to get back. Charging from a standard 100V power source will take about 4 hours.

While Honda didn’t announced any performance figures, it said that the “EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50cc gasoline engine motorcycles.”

Honda hopes to target the EV-neo towards individual business owners who provide mainly delivery services.

Make the jump for the press release.

Press Release:

Honda Plans to Begin Sales of Commercial Use Electric Scooter, EV-neo, in December 2010

TOKYO, Japan, April 13, 2010 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. revealed the latest prototype of the EV-neo electric scooter and announced plans to begin lease sales in Japan in December 2010 to businesses and individual business owners who provide mainly delivery services.

Honda developed the EV-neo, an electric scooter designed to provide the durability necessary for business use, envisioning a wide range of uses by businesses such as delivery services. Equipped with a lithium-ion battery and a brushless motor, EV-neo realizes excellent environmental performance with zero CO2 emissions in use. The battery is rechargeable using a household power source with attention given to the range per charge. Moreover, EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50cc gasoline engine motorcycles realizing a powerful ride even with cargo by leveraging the characteristics of a high-torque motor even at a low speed ride.

Under the key words of “quiet and clean” Honda held the world premier exhibition of the EV-neo concept model (under the name EVE-neo) at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 as one of Honda”s new-generation personal mobility products which will contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society while transporting people and cargo. The mass-market model of EV-neo is currently under development.

Honda will continue providing products with excellent environmental performance to more customers in order to contribute to global CO2 emission reduction efforts.

– By: Kap Shah