The city of Barcelona is lending itself to a special program of testing the use of electric scooters as the Honda EV-neo scooter gets out on European city streets.
The urban electric scooter program will start in July 2011 and Honda will provide 18 EV-neo scooters for the year of the program.
The Honda EV-neo is equipped with a 2.
8 kW electric motor driven by lithium ion batteries.
It’s perfect for city centre use with an average range of 34 km and a speed of 34 km/hr (depending on conditions).
Importantly, a full recharge takes just three-and-a-half hours and the battery pack has been designed to fit perfectly under the seat.
A fast recharge unit can be used for a full recharge in just 30 minutes.
The project in Barcelona will involve monitoring the take-up and use of the Honda EV-neo in the city.
It’s the first time the scooter has appeared on European shores and Barcelona has been chosen because the city has a number of different incentives for electric vehicle use.
That, and the fact that 30 percent of vehicles on Barcelona streets are motorcycles.
The Honda EV-neo was released in April this year and the company plans to sell about 1,000 units in its first at a price of 454,650 yen – equivalent to about 4,000 euros.
2011 Honda EV-neo electric scooter The EV-neo has already been used in Japan as part of the Honda Electric Vehicle Testing Programmes which are trying out future mobility systems for personal use.
After the Japan earthquake and nuclear disaster, we might now look at these things in a different light but still, the purpose of reducing CO2 emissions on a crowded planet is there.
The Honda EV-neo scooters in Japan were used in one prefecture by residents and tourists who then provided feedback, and in another prefecture they were leased to delivery companies.
To see more on the Honda Barcelona scooter project, go to the EV-neo European website.