Car titan Honda throws its hat into the mobility scooter ring with its ESMO concept
After Toyota recently revealed its exciting mobility product range and Renault purchased a stake in powerchair manufacturer NINO Robotics, automotive giant Honda has revealed its own mobility scooter concept at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Debuting the concepts in Las Vegas this January, the Japanese car manufacturer unveiled its Electric Smart Mobility (ESMO) mobility scooter alongside its new Honda Mobile Power Pack, a portable and swappable rechargeable battery that boasts an output of 1kWh or more.
Unlike Toyota’s mobility device reveal at the end of 2019, which provided product specifications and production timeframes, Honda has given little information about the three-wheeled ESMO concept in terms of performance, features or if it will even see production.
A video released by the company does seem to suggest however that the mobility scooter is designed to fit into a wider, renewable energy ecosystem which it refers to as Honda Energy Management Concept.
At the core of the concept is the company’s Mobile Power Pack, explaining “when multiple Honda Mobile Power Packs are used simultaneously, they can power electric motorcycles, small-sized electric mobility products, and even become a stable supply of electricity in people’s homes.”
Whilst not likely to make an appearance on the market any time soon, the latest concept from Honda does mark another car manufacturer that has invested time and money considering the mobility needs of the globally growing elderly and disabled community.
As more automotive manufacturers that have traditionally focused on diesel and petrol-driven vehicles transition into electric-powered cars and develop battery technological further, there is a chance more automotive manufacturers will turn their attentions to the mobility market.
