Honda and Panasonic to partner up?

Honda and Panasonic are considering a collaboration to manufacture portable batteries to power electric motorcycles, according to a report in Japanese newspaper The Mainichi.

The newspaper’s sources said that Honda is setting its sights on using the batteries on its electric motorcycles currently being developed for the Japanese and other Asian markets – and they could also be used as an energy source to power households.

For its part, Panasonic is looking to expand its operations into new sectors as its home appliance operation faces fierce competition from Asian rivals.

The Japanese government-run New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization has already decided to subsidise the project.

Continuing on the electric theme, on July 6, 2018, Honda announced that the latest addition to its PCX scooter range will be a hybrid. The bike, which Honda Australia says won’t be coming to Australia – if scooter sales continue to rise it might think otherwise, though – is powered by a new high-output lithium ion battery, adding drive assist to the ACG starter that conventionally starts the engine and generates electricity.

Maximum output of the motor is 1.9hp (1.3kW), and the traditional engine is good for 12hp (9kW). Torque figures are 4.3Nm (motor) and 12Nm (engine) respectively.

Meanwhile, in other Honda news, the company is developing a successor to its ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) humanoid robot for “more practical purposes” such as nursing care.

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ASIMO was first launched in 2000, and Honda has been using its control modules to produce more hardware such as the self-balancing bike it unveiled in 2017.

ASIMO was last updated in 2011.