Yamaha Neo’s Electric Scooter, E-Bike Range Unveiled

The Japanese manufacturer has also showcased the Yamaha E01 Concept electric maxi scooter In a refreshed avatar

• The Yamaha Neo’s features a removable battery pack and will be launched in Europe in a few weeks.
• On the other hand, the E01 Concept will begin its life in the shared mobility space.
• Yamaha has also unveiled the B01 e-moped developed in partnership with Fantic Motor. 

Yamaha has unveiled a range of electric scooters and e-bikes at its personal electric mobility event, Switch ON. The company has taken the wraps off the new Yamaha Neo’s electric scooter, which will be launched in Europe in a few weeks. 

The Yamaha Neo’s is actually the successor to the Yamaha E02 Concept unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. Unlike the sharp-looking E02, the Neo’s is a lot funkier and features curvy body panels with distinctive twin LED headlights on the apron. The e-scooter uses removable batteries and will offer performance equivalent to that of a 50cc petrol-powered scooter. Please note here that the usage of swappable battery technology dovetails with the fact that Yamaha is a part of the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium along with Honda, KTM, and Piaggio. 

With the Neo’s, the bikemaker could provide valuable usage data to the consortium to develop a common system to work on two-wheelers from all four manufacturers. 

Yamaha has also showcased a refreshed version of the E01 Concept electric scooter. This one will offer performance equivalent to that of a 125cc petrol-powered scooter. However, it won’t be available on sale to customers anytime soon. In fact, Yamaha intends to introduce this e-scooter on a shared mobility fleet. It will also partner up with government agencies or local administrations to study the usage data. Only after two or three years will the production-spec electric maxi-scooter be launched for the general public. 

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Yamaha also took the wraps off a new electric moped concept, called the B01. This has been developed in conjunction with Fantic Motor and Motori Minarelli, and the production version will break cover in early 2023. Interestingly, the concept looks similar to the Fantic Issimo e-moped. 

Additionally, Yamaha unveiled three e-bikes: one meant for hilly terrain, one for road use, and the third one for the urban jungle. Full specifications of these e-bikes will be revealed in the coming months, and they will be available in Europe before the year ends. 

All in all, the Yamaha Neo’s, in particular, does seem to be promising when it comes to close-quarters urban mobility. It’s got the styling right, and the swappable battery technology will also help in reducing the downtime of the EV drastically. This should also provide Yamaha with the opportunity to use its learnings on to its upcoming electric two-wheeler developed specifically for India. 

The competition will be stiff for the bikemaker here, considering Honda is working on an electric two-wheeler, and even Hero MotoCorp plans to launch an electric scooter within this month itself. Moreover, Honda has already partnered with HP to set up swap stations at HP pumps, while Hero MotoCorp will be establishing charging points at BP pumps. The future certainly is electric!