Yamaha’s Electric Scooter Concepts E01 & E02 Revealed Ahead Of Tokyo Motor Show

Yamaha also plans to unveil two mystery models at the show

• The Yamaha E01 is an electric scooter with performance equivalent to a 125cc petrol-powered scooter.
• On the other hand, the E02’s performance is equivalent to a 50cc scooter.
• The YPJ-YZ is an electric bicycle with off-road friendly motocross genes.

Yamaha has announced a slew of electric vehicle concepts for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, which is set to commence on October 24. Two electric scooters, E01 and E02, and an electric mountain terrain bicycle, YPJ-YZ, are set to make their global debut at the show. But even before the show kicks off, Yamaha has given us a small sneak preview. 

The Yamaha E01 is a maxi-style scooter with a rather funky-looking seat and interior panels. Yamaha says this urban commuter scooter offers performance equivalent to a 125cc petrol-powered scooter. It also gets fast-charging capabilities for shorter downtime while charging. The battery compartment takes up the floorboard space leaving two narrow steps on the sides to rest the rider’s feet. This setup should offer a centralised mass for optimum handling. 

Up front, the scooter appears to have conventional telescopic forks and the rear features a shock absorber linked to what looks like an aluminium swingarm. The scooter employs disc brake with ABS on both ends. It appears that the concept E01 is shod with Bridgestone slick tyres but if this ever goes into production, expect to see proper road-spec tyres.

On the other hand, the Yamaha E02 is essentially the smaller brother of the E01 with performance comparable to a 50cc petrol-powered scooter. This one gets light-weight bodywork and removable battery to facilitate quick battery swapping. The scooter employs a hub motor in the rear wheel, which eliminates the need for a drivetrain. This scooter too uses telescopic fork and disc brake up front but there’s no ABS. It isn’t surprising considering the scooter is designed for lower speeds. 

Interestingly, Yamaha already sells a similar electric scooter, the EC-05, in the Taiwanese market. It has been co-developed with Taiwanese electric scooter brand Gogoro, which is particularly known for its swappable battery technology. What’s even more interesting is that this electric scooter could reportedly make its debut in the Indian market!

Apart from these two scooters, the Japanese brand also plans to unveil the Yamaha YPJ-YZ, an electric pedal-assisted mountain bike. It uses a split cradle frame with the battery mounted between the cradles for a better centre of gravity. To further enhance its off-road prowess, this e-bicycle features an inverted fork, a rear gas-charged monoshock and spoke wheels wrapped with Maxxis knobby tyres. Brakes include petal disc on both ends. Overall, this electric bicycle looks like an ideal rival to Harley’s electric bicycle concept. 

Yamaha has also revealed that two more models will make their global debut at the show but it has remained tight-lipped about the details. Will one of them be another production model based on Yamaha’s Leaning Multi-Wheel technology like the Niken? Only time will tell, so stay tuned for more updates.