Yamaha’s ‘Premium’ EV Likely To Launch In The Next 12 Months

It is no secret that Yamaha wants to enter the Indian EV space. The Japanese brand had made it very clear last year when it showcased the Neo’s to a dealer-only event. And now, its Chairman of India operations, Itaru Otani, has confirmed that the brand will play in the premium EV space, which is likely to take place in a year’s time.

“We won’t be entering the mass commuting space. It doesn’t align with our strategy, and our product will carry a premium positioning tag,” he said to an online publication. Hence, expecting the Yamaha electric scooter (yes, we think it will be an e-scooter not an e-motorcycle) to be competing with the likes of the entry-level models of the Bajaj Chetak, TVS iQube and Ola S1 series, is out of the question.

Likelihood is that Yamaha will tap into its performance heritage, something that the Indian arm has shied away from largely, and bring forth an offering capable of taking on the Ather 450 Apex and Simple One. And we sincerely hope that Yamaha follows in Suzuki’s footsteps and not Honda’s by offering a fixed battery pack solution that doesn’t eat up boot space and turn out to be expensive to run.

There could also be the possibility that Yamaha might use the learnings from its investment in River. While the River Indie could be the more rugged, everyday alternative, the Yamaha electric scooter could be the more flamboyant and spirited model.

Source

*Yamaha Neo's images used for representational purposes only