Honda Motocompacto electric scooter and eVTOL flying car – it’s more than just cars at at KLIMS 2024

Honda isn’t just a maker of cars, and the full breadth of the company’s capabilities is on show at the 2024 Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS), which opens to the press today. There are three machines at Honda’s stand that you can’t buy – a car, a two-wheeler and a flying thing.

We’ll talk about the Prelude Concept later as that’s still under wraps, but here’s the bike and the plane. Those who are of a certain vintage might remember the Motocompo from the 1980s, a 50cc folding scooter designed to fit in the first-generation Honda City’s boot. This is the modern version of that, and being born in this era means the Motocompacto is electric powered.

Revealed in September 2023, the 18.7 kg Motocompacto has a seat and controls that can fold away to be easily transported in vehicles and public transportation. At 967.8 mm long (742 mm folded), 889 mm tall (536 mm folded), and 437 mm wide (94 mm folded), it can be stored in tight spaces. Seat height is 622 mm.

Powering the Motocompacto is a permanent-magnet direct drive electric motor producing 16 Nm of torque, which is sent to the tiny front wheel. The motor takes juice from a 6.8 Ah battery that provides 20 km of range and a top speed of 24 km/h. If you’re curious, 0-24 km/h takes seven seconds. Charging takes 3.5 hours.

The Motocompacto employs a heat-treated aluminium frame and wheels, and its list of features include an LED headlight and tail light, side reflectors, and a welded steel loop on its kickstand. Also on are onboard storage, a digital speedometer, charge gauge and a carrying handle. A mobile app offers personal settings for lighting and ride modes via Bluetooth. The Honda Motocompacto is on sale in America for US$995 (RM4,420), but you can ride it for free at KLIMS.

Sorry, you can’t ride in the eVTOL, but you can imagine being in the flying car, thanks to the LED background of the KL skyline. The eVTOL appears similar to a craft that was announced in 2021, which has a small battery capacity that limits electric power to usage within cities, supplemented by a gas turbine and AC/DC converter for longer distances. Honda says that the range is 400 km. Not quite the HondaJet, but cool nevertheless.

GALLERY: Honda Motocompacto at KLIMS 2024

GALLERY: Honda eVTOL at KLIMS 2024