Japanese bike producer Honda will start selling its first electric bike assembled in Vietnam, the ICON e:, at prices starting at VND26.9 million (US$1,040) on April 12.
The ICON e, manufactured in northern Vinh Phuc Province, will be available in three variants: Sport, Special, and Premium. The Premium version starts at VND26.9 million, while the Special and Sport editions are slightly more expensive, ranging from VND27.1 million to VND27.3 million.
Honda will not sell the battery for the bike but instead lease it at VND350,000 a month.
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Honda ICON e:, an electric bike assembled in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Luong Dung |
The battery is removable for charging at home and charges fully in 7.5 hours, when it will offer a range of 50 kilometers.
The ICON e: does not require a motorbike driver’s license and is targeted at students.
Honda also offers to buy back the bikes after three years and refurbish them to sell to other customers. The company announced that it would begin leasing in July another electric model, the CUV e: which it will import from Thailand.
It will lease — at VND1.5 million a month — instead of selling the vehicle to gather customer feedback.
The CUV e: has a range of 80.7 kilometers on a full charge and a maximum speed of 83 kilometers per hour.
Honda, the largest motorbike seller in Vietnam with an 80% market share, has been taking a reserved approach to rolling out electric motorbikes as demand for gasoline vehicles remains high.
