Honda launches cute, compact urban e-scooter

September 15, 2023 - Resembling a sleek piece of luggage when stored, Honda’s new $995 foldable Motocompacto electric scooter is an homage to its 1980s petrol engine sibling.

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In the early 1980s, Honda launched a compact hatchback car in Japan called the City, which uniquely offered a factory add-on of a cuboid, folding petrol engine scooter, called the Motocompacto – designed to be stored in the City’s boot.

Forty years later, Honda has revisited the idea by unveiling the foldable Motocompacto e-scooter – a modern, sleeker, and some might say, cuter, reimagining of it's older sibling.

The Motocompacto (2023) resembles a piece of carry-on luggage, or perhaps a folding table, and weighs 19 kilogrammes (41 pounds) – less than half the weight of the 1980s original, which came in at 42kg (93lbs).

Capable of 24km/h (15mph) and with a range of 19km (12 miles), the Motocompacto features a folding seat, handlebars and rear wheel, and will cost $995 when it launches in November 2023.