Honda trials electric motorcycle subscription

400 dollars a month

Honda Australia has opened expressions of interest for the WN7, Honda’s first electric model in the brand’s so-called FUN category. In Australia, it is being offered through a partnership with subscription provider Carbar. The cost is 400 Australian dollars per month over a two-year period.

This means the rider uses the motorcycle for the duration of the agreement but does not buy it.

That distinction becomes particularly interesting when compared with Europe. In the UK, Honda has set a standard price of £12,999 for the WN7 and also offers finance through Honda Finance Europe. One of the options is PCP, where the customer can choose to make a final payment at the end of the agreement and keep the motorcycle.

In Australia, Honda has therefore chosen a different model.

Why a subscription?

Honda has not described the Australian scheme as a new global strategy for motorcycle ownership. So there is no reason to assume that subscriptions are something Honda plans to introduce on a broad scale. Even so, the way the WN7 is being introduced is interesting.

Electric motorcycles are still in an early stage of establishing themselves in the market. For many riders, there are questions around range, charging, batteries and resale value. A subscription could make it easier to try the technology without also having to consider what the motorcycle might be worth several years down the line.

For Honda, it also provides an opportunity to introduce a new type of motorcycle to a limited group of riders and gain experience of how it is used in everyday life.

A different route from LiveWire

When Harley-Davidson launched the LiveWire in 2019, the company took a more traditional approach. The motorcycle was sold as a premium product with a high purchase price. The LiveWire attracted considerable attention, but also highlighted how difficult it can be to persuade traditional motorcycle buyers to spend a significant amount of money on an entirely new type of powertrain.

Honda’s Australian approach tackles the issue from a different direction. Riders do not have to make the leap from a petrol motorcycle straight into owning an electric one, but can instead use it for a limited period. That does not, of course, mean that subscriptions automatically solve the challenges facing electric motorcycles. But they do at least lower one of the barriers: the decision to buy.

More than just transport

At the same time, a motorcycle is not always simply a means of transport. Many riders modify and personalise their bikes with luggage, seats, suspension, windscreens, hand guards and other details. Over time, the motorcycle becomes something personal in a way that does not necessarily fit quite as naturally with a subscription model.

For others, the opposite may be true. Riders who like to change motorcycles frequently, use one for commuting or simply want to try new technology may find it attractive not to have to think about selling the bike or its future resale value. And that is perhaps where Honda’s experiment becomes most interesting.

An experiment worth watching

For now, the Australian subscription applies only to the WN7, and there is nothing to suggest that the same arrangement is on its way to Europe. Honda has also made it clear that the coming years are an establishment phase for its electric motorcycles. The company has described the period up to 2026 as one of market introduction, followed by a phase in which the business will be expanded.

Whether the model proves successful remains to be seen.

But it raises an interesting question even for those of us riding petrol-powered motorcycles today: do we necessarily need to own our next motorcycle, or could a subscription be an alternative?