In a major move for EVs in the country, Atlas Honda unveiled the BENLY e, its first two-wheeler electric vehicle in Pakistan this week.

With rising fuel prices, many commuters want to switch to electric vehicles or motorbikes, but the upfront cost is a major stumbling block. So, when Honda launched its electric bike, or scooter per se, many people wanted to know how much it would cost in Pakistani rupees.

The other question is when does ‘BENLY e’ become available for consumers in Pakistan.

The company showcased the BENLY e at an event marking 60 years of Honda in Pakistan at the company’s facility in Sheikhupura. However, the event was described as a ‘soft’ launch and an official release date has not been announced yet.

Noriaki Abe, Chief Officer of Motorcycle and Power Products at Atlas Honda, said that the company would put the BNLY e through test marketing to determine the scope of electric scooters before launching the product for the general public.

Originally unveiled in 2019, the electric scooter has three variants: the BENLY e, BENLY e: I Pro, BENLY e: II, and BENLY e: II Pro. The scooter is only available in white colour.

Although Honda has not specified which variants it intends to introduce in Pakistan, the minimum introductory prices in Japan can give an idea about what kind of prices could be expected in Pakistan.

The price of the basic BENLY e variant in Japan, minus taxes, was set at 670,000 yen in 2019.

With the exchange rate set at PKR 1=¥ 1.94, the minimum price comes to around Rs1.3 million, without taxes and import duties.

Experts told Business Recorder that the scooter could take as much as one year to become available in Pakistan.