Honda's New Electric Delivery Quadricycle Has Swappable Batteries, Fits in Bike Lanes

The business of delivering goods is a vast and complex one, and is only made more complicated by dense, urban spaces where demand is high and streets are tight. Enter the Fastport eQuad, a new, all-electric quadricycle from a new subsidiary of Honda. Though just a prototype for now, the eQuad is designed with urban congestion in mind and will offer a variety of features and sizes to fit the challenges of last-mile delivery.

Fastport is Honda's B2B business and micromobility arm. On Tuesday, it announced its first product will be the eQuad, which is the vehicle delivery drivers will use to get your goods to you in a more efficient and safer way.

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This quadricycle prioritizes rider comfort, the company claims, as Honda's own engineering in the chassis design should return a comfortable ride, even over rough city blocks. That's fine, but the rest of the driver-comfort list is far from the sort of basic amenities you might find in, say, any modern Honda passenger vehicle. Delivery people, get excited for a full-frontal enclosure for protection against the elements, a ventilation fan, and a UV-coated canopy with a ceramic tint option. Maybe pay less attention to the (arguably efficient, for getting in and out quickly) otherwise open-air cockpit.

Swappable rechargeable batteries will theoretically cut down on time spent waiting to charge back up again. Plus, an all-electric setup means no additional noise or emissions pollution. There's a pedal-by-wire pedal-assist powertrain, as well as automatic parking brakes and regenerative braking.

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Both small and large cargo box container sizes will be offered, depending on regional needs. Vehicle length can also be customized, which means customers can load a variety of goods like groceries, parcels, or small packages. The eQuad can also fit in bike lanes, which should reduce traffic congestion (at least for cars, maybe not, um, bikes).

Two sizes will be offered. The small eQuad is approximately 11 feet long, just shy of 7 feet tall, and 3 feet wide, while the large model is approximately 12 feet long, 7 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. The small cargo box is approximately 6.3 feet long, 4.8 feet tall, and 3.2 feet wide; the largo cargo box is roughly 7.4 feet long, 5 feet tall, and 4 feet wide.

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Maximum payload for the small version is 320 pounds and 650 pounds for the large, and at maximum payload capacity, the large can travel up to 23 miles. No word yet on the range for the small. Both versions can travel up to a maximum speed of 12 mph.

That's not all. The eQuad will also be equipped with software-defined platform features like maintenance and service plans, AI-powered dashboards to help with driver and fleet-management operations, and over-the-air software updates.

Honda plans to debut its prototype at the Eurobike 2025 event in Frankfurt, Germany, at the end of June. No pricing was announced at this time, though deliveries of the first edition models are slated to start late this year. A full rollout is expected to happen next summer.

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At least in the case of a place like New York City, this is good news. Last-mile truck use has long plagued city streets and only increased in recent years due to the rise in e-commerce. Residents are fighting againstdangerous truck traffic, toxic air quality, and noise. Electric cargo bikes like the eQuad are the way forward.

An update to the Department of Transportation's cargo bike rules in March 2024 now allows for freight deliveries to be executed by "pedal-assist electric cargo bicycles up to four feet wide, with four wheels and up to [16 feet long] long (with trailer)," Streetsblog New York City reported. This is "up from the original 120-inch limit that would have barred the existing fleets from Whole Foods and Amazon."

Furthermore, the rules also establish new curb regulations: a "Commercial Bicycle Loading Only" zone to allow dedicated space at the curb for cargo bikes to load and unload goods."

The eQuad's range might run into issues in bigger and more sprawling cities, but in immediate downtown areas, they're likely to be a favorable mobility solution.