Honda EV-Cub "is coming"

23rd February 2016

Electric | Super Cub | 2WD | Concept bike

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Honda has been scratching this particular electric itch for the past few years, first back in 2009 when the firm was flirting with the notion of a two-wheel-drive electric cub, and then again with its Super Cub concept revealed in 2015 at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Well now the company has taken another step into the possible future by announcing that a production electric Cub will be ready within two years. That hardly sounds like Honda's rushing to the finishing post with this one. In fact, a two year delay might imply that the company is still uncertain about nailing its colours to the electric mast. And even then, the new Cub will at first be aimed only at the Japanese market before being rolled out across South East Asia. There's so far no mention of it coming to the UK.

Nevertheless, Honda's president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, has been quoted as saying: 'We are planning to introduce the EV-CUB, a mass-production model developed based on the EV-CUB Concept electric motorcycle, to the Japanese market about two years from now and then subsequently in main ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries, which have been the largest market for the Honda Cub Series. Building on the Cub models, which have taken deep root in people’s everyday lives, we will strive to popularize the EV and reduce CO2 emissions.'

Honda has so far built over 87 million petrol-engined Super Cubs (2014 figure). The Super Cub has been in production since 1958, and has been assembled in 15 countries.

The new electric Cub, if and when it arrives, will in all probability look very close to the image above. Why? Well, Honda has been quoted (indirectly) as saying that the human body hasn't changed in the past 50 years, so why should the bike?

Well we've got news for Honda. The human race has put on a lot a weight since the skinny fifties, and the world is moving a lot faster. But that aside, the top Japanese motorcycle firm evidently got the original Cub design just right, and we think the new EV-Cub concept looks pretty good (not withstanding those wheels).

The 2009 two-wheel-drive concept featured electric motors in the front and rear hubs. It's not clear if this new proposal will follow that brief or feature just a single rear wheel hub.

Clearly, this electric EV-Cub has been a long coming, and it's about time that Honda put this particular EV on its CV.

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