Over the years, Yamaha has established the image of a performance-oriented brand in the Indian market. Till now, it has stayed away from the booming Indian electric scooter market. The Japanese brands have been slow in entering the Indian market, but Honda and Suzuki have both now launched scooters in the market.
Yamaha is the latest entrant. At a product launch of the XSR 155 (ICE) motorcycle today, Yamaha unveiled two electric scooters that are making
EC-06
The EC-06 is a large-sized commuter scooter. This uses the River Indie’s battery, motor, E&E, and likely the frame as well. Note that Yamaha is a strategic investor in The World of River, the Bengaluru-based startup that makes the Indie.
Like the River Indie, the EC 06 has a motor that peaks at 6.7 kW. The top speed is rated at 90 kph. This is a mid-drive motor, and it remains to be seen if Yamaha has chosen a chain-drive (like the present Indie) or a belt drive (like the old Indie).
The fixed battery is 4.0 kWh, and Yamaha is suggesting a certified range of 160 km. The Indie has 163 km. Charging time remains a woeful nine hours, indicating that Yamaha is likely packing a 500W charger as standard on the EC06 to keep the BoM costs low.
The EC 06 would be manufactured by River for Yamaha.
What is disappointing is that the rush to the market has not allowed the Yamaha-River engineers to play with things. Sure, designing and homologating battery packs is cumbersome, but toying with motors is easier. We wish Yamaha had packed more power, going with its credentials of being a performance brand.
Also, the fussy styling is a step down from the River. In the Taiwanese market, where Yamaha has two scooters, both underpinned by Gogoro systems, the EMF stands out as a better-looking and more fun scooter than the Gogoros. We wish Yamaha had done the same for India with the EC 06.
AEROX-E
The AEROX-E would be the performance scooter in the Yamaha range. It resembles the Aerox and is powered by a mid-drive motor that peaks at 9.4 kW. From the pictures, it looks like an e-drive (side-mounted with an integrated gearbox) unit.
Energy comes from two portable batteries, each 1.5 kWh. We have no confirmation that the batteries are the Honda MPPs. Yamaha is part of the Gachaco consortium in Japan and can use the Honda MPPs. However, at 9.4 kW, the batteries have to use high-discharge cells, making the choice of the MPPs unlikely.
The AEROX-E has a certified range of 106 km. As of now, it is unlikely that the AEROX-E would go beyond being a styling exercise. The market for premium electric scooters with a limited range is constrained in India.
Both scooters come with Yamaha’s Y-connect app. It seems that both scooters are homologated, and Yamaha would be working on a market launch soon.
