Honda electric scooter on sale later this year

Honda has revealed the latest prototype of the EV-neo electrical motorcycle and will begin lease sales in Japan of the model in December 2010.

Honda first showed the EV-neo at the Tokyo Motorcycle show last November but this latest version is how it will look when lease sales start.

Honda claim a range of around 20miles on a full charge.

The EV-neo has a high-power lithium-ion battery as the power source and an electric motor as the drive mechanism, with zero CO2 emissions in use and very quiet performance. The battery is rechargeable with a regular 100V AC power source.

Honda claim the EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50cc petrol scooter and is good enough to meet the needs of delivery services.

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.

Key specifications of EV-neo Prototype
Dimensions                  1,802 length x 681 width x 1,066 height (mm)
Range                          Over 30km (at 30km/h on a flat road) per charge
Battery type/make        Lithium-ion battery manufactured by Toshiba
Charge performance     With quick charger: 80% in 20 minutes
                                   With regular charger: 100% in 4 hours