Yamaha is the company Honda fears. They don’t say that, but if any Japanese majors have the size and tenacity to challenge Honda’s domination, it is Yamaha, except for the fact that Yamaha has decided to be premium and pursue margins (and that’s not bad).
The company has consciously decided to compete only in the premium motorcycle segment. That does not mean that Yamaha does not and would not do commuter machines. Premium does not equal lifestyle. That means wherever Yamaha competes, they do not do so on price. There is a special Yamaha flavor even in a basic commuter scooter like the Yamaha Fazzio in the Indonesian market.
Both Honda and Yamaha are laggards in terms of going electric. Honda had been taking baby steps before 2022 when they devised their electrification strategy for two-wheelers. They further enhanced the plan in 2023 and have launched a bunch of scooters (one scooter, many variants, most recently in the European, Indonesian, and Indian markets.
In comparison, Yamaha has a rather multi-pronged strategy for going electric. It is a member of a few important battery-swapping consortiums, has the in-house capability to make rather powerful motors that can drive electric sports cars, and has made two significant investments in other electric two-wheeler manufacturers.
Yet, Yamaha’s electric ambitions are driven more by the Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050, which aims to reduce Scope 3 CO2 emissions (emissions produced from the Company's value chain, e.g., use of sold products) by 90% by 2050 compared to 2010. In short, they will have more electric scooters, but nothing will be done quickly.
In its integrated report for 2024, Yamaha mentions that it is its medium-term (2022-24) target to “Release at least eight new electric motorcycles/scooters to the global market.” They are a bit behind on that with only three electric models in play (EC-5, EMF and NEO’S) and Yamaha has now moved the date (to add five more electric two-wheelers to its portfolio) to mid-2025.
Any brand launching five new electric scooters/motorcycles in the next seven months is quite interesting.
Yamaha: The E-Tech Powerhouse
Yamaha‘s reluctance to commit enthusiastically to the electric two-wheel mobility segment is hard to fathom. The company is a technology powerhouse and has already developed high-power, high-speed motors that are in demand with niche sports car manufacturers. In April 2021, Yamaha stunned the EV industry by unveiling a 350 kW motor, perhaps the highest-density motor at that time. At that time, Yamaha stated that they had been accepting orders for 35 kW-200 kW motors. The 350 kW motor was newly developed and would run at 800 V. The oil-cooled IPMSM motor is clever, integrating the reduction gears and inverter into the same unit.
Since then, Yamaha has signed supplier agreements with Subaru and a deal with Lola Cars to supply and co-develop cars for Formula-E. Recently, it signed an agreement with British sportscar brand Caterham to develop an electric sports coupe, for which Yamaha would supply the e-axle.
Relevant here is that an organization that can develop high-voltage, high-speed motors and make the R1 ICE hyperbike has not committed to making an electric superbike.
Till now, that is.
The Electric Superbike Patents
In April this year, Yamaha filed patents for a battery case for a large electric motorcycle. The size of the battery case indicates that it is a high-powered electric motorcycle.
The patent filings revealed that Yamaha is working on an air-cooled battery for the electric superbike. At this stage, little more is known except that something is under development.
Investment in River
Meanwhile, Yamaha has been busy making investments in other E2W manufacturers across the globe. It has made two significant investments in electric mobility. The first is in an Indian start-up, World of River, and the other is in the French trial bike manufacturer Electric Motion SAS(EM).
The World of River investment is significant. Yamaha participated in the Series B round in February 2024 and invested about USD 40m at an undisclosed valuation. The existing investors, Trucks VC, Maniv Mobility, Al-Futtaim Group, Lowercarbon Capital, and Toyota Ventures, also participated.
USD 40m is a large investment in a start-up that had just started manufacturing operations. River has started delivery since then, though the volume remains low as production ramps up. The investment in River is interesting because, despite being an electric commuter scooter, it meets Yamaha‘s ethos in some way. The River Indie is a scooter unlike any in the Indian market. It is much larger than a commuter scooter but can not be called a touring scooter. The company positions it as the “SUV of scooters” with a lot of emphasis on the utility factor. The Indie has an enormous under-seat space, a large front glove box, and side-mounts for panniers. The floorboard is extra large for carrying large objects. While it may be a utility scooter, it has a premium, well-thought-out product feel, something that (probably) resonated with Yamaha.
Considering that World of River is a small start-up and Yamaha is a significant investor with no electric play in the Indian market, it would be interesting to see how both coexist.
The ‘No Electric’ play in the Indian market is quite perplexing but can be explained by Yamaha’s shifting focus from scooters to performance motorcycles. A few years back, Yamaha had a focus on scooters but since has lost interest and has seen its market share eroding. Even with Honda MPPs now being introduced in the Indian market, we don’t see Yamaha making an electric play soon. However, in June 2024, the Indian management hinted that they are working on a unique electric scooter for the Indian market.
Investment in EM
Yamaha has also made an undisclosed investment in French Trial bike manufacturer Electric Motion (EM). This is interesting because Trials is in an area where Yamaha has been developing its own electric motorcycle - the TY-E 2.2.
Yamaha and Electric Motion have been competing in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, so it would be interesting to see how Yamaha wants to develop the TY-E 2.2 further. In some ways, EM is ahead of Yamaha as it has already been selling its Trials and motocross bikes while Yamaha is still in the development stages.
Battery Swapping Groups
Yamaha is a member of the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) in Europe and of Gachaco in Japan. It is one of the four core/founding members of SBMC, a consortium expected to define the swappable battery standard in Europe and worldwide. However, SBMC has not yet gained any traction.
The story with Gachaco is different. It is a Japan-only consortium with Honda, ENEOS, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki all participating. Yamaha’s share in Gachaco is only 5%, while the market leader, Honda, holds 51%. Yamaha‘s participation is as significant or insignificant as that of the other smaller Japanese manufacturers, Suzuki and Kawasaki.
Gachaco has already adapted the Honda Mobile Power Pack (MPP) as the standard battery, with Honda supplying the batteries and ENEOS providing the funding and real estate at its fuel stations. All four manufacturers are expected to develop their commuter two-wheelers around the MPP, except that Yamaha has not been on the ball with this.
Yamaha has been so far behind that they decided to source the Class-1 equivalent models from Honda instead of developing them. So Honda would supply the Benly e: and EM 1 e: models with Yamaha badging. It seems that Yamaha’s development of scooters using the Honda MPPs has been delayed or may even have been canceled.
DIAPASON
Instead, the company is working on a project called DIAPASON, which they describe as “Versatile EV Platforms for Small, Low-Speed Mobility.” At the Tokyo show in March 2024, Yamaha unveiled seven small recreational or mobility vehicle prototypes. Each has a different body format, but all use the Honda MPPs to energize.
Yamaha would use its motors for the DIAPASON vehicles, which would be co-created with participants from other industries.
The Taiwan Play
Like in Japan, where Yamaha plans to use Honda models to piggyback, it has done the same in Taiwan, where it uses Gogoro hardware. The first scooter in Taiwan was the EC-05, which used the Gogoro motor, batteries, and the underpinnings.
The second model is the EMF, in which Yamaha still uses the Gogoro batteries and motor but has developed the rest of the scooter.
Yamaha also sells NEO’S electric moped (opening pic) in Europe. This is an entry-level scooter with removable batteries (not MPPs) and a motor rated at 2.5kW. The top speed is limited to 40kph. This was one of the first electric Yamahas, and it is unlikely that it would continue without upgrades and significant changes.
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