Honda launches cargo e-bike delivery business
Honda debuted a new business unit named 'Fastport' this week that will use cargo e-bikes to serve the last-mile delivery market in dense urban areas in North America and Europe.
The automaker developed a modular, electric quadricycle it will use for deliveries. The vehicle, which can operate in bike lanes, will be manufactured in Ohio beginning later this year.
Honda plans to work with delivery providers to offer the new Fastport service. 'Instead of just selling the vehicle itself, [Honda is offering] the entire support ecosystem: the batteries, the cargo box, the maintenance, the service, as well as the software,' Adam Elsayed, head of product at Fastport, an American Honda Motor Co. venture, said in an interview.
Electric-powered cargo bikes can help reduce emissions and traffic congestion from truck deliveries. In recent years, several pilot programs have tried to increase their use with delivery hubs, three-wheel cargo bikes and larger bikes. Honda plans to work more holistically: 'We're dedicated to transforming the last-mile delivery space, and we plan to do that through what we're calling an ecosystem of hardware and software products,' Elsayed said.
Since the bikes will operate on crowded city streets, they have safety features such as proximity sensors, a rear-view camera and automatic parking brakes, Elsayed said. The bike, which Honda is calling the Fastport eQuad, will be available in two sizes. Each will have a maximum speed of 12 mph; a canopy, vent fan and front enclosure are designed for rider comfort, the company says.
The larger model can handle a payload up to 650 pounds; the smaller model can handle 320 pounds. The bike's software can be updated over the air.
The eQuad's swappable batteries are also a Honda product, its mobile power pack. Each bike carries two 1.3-kilowatt-hour batteries, Elsayed said, with a range of up to 23 miles, depending on payload, for the larger vehicle.
Honda calls its Fastport business model 'fleet-as-a-service,' which it will be selling to business customers. Honda said it is speaking with 'major logistics and delivery companies' in North America and Europe about pilot programs, but it did not reveal any names. Elsayed said the company is 'mainly focused on parcel and food delivery' for the initial rollout.
Fastport was the brainchild of the Honda New Business Innovation Lab at American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance, California. The Fastport eQuad will be produced at the Honda Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, which the company describes as a small volume, specialty manufacturing facility.
'We believe that [the Fastport eQuad is] more advantageous than a van and more capable than an e-bike,' Elsayed said. 'If we get these on the road, we may be able to replace some of those larger vans, and we think that will be a benefit for the city.'
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