Yamaha Motor India recently showcased two electric scooters – NEO’S and E01 – at a dealers’ meet, to hint at its EV plans for our market
In India, electric mobility has been growing in recent times, especially in the two-wheeler space. We’ve seen plenty of electric scooters and motorcycles go on sale in the past few years, mostly from new start-ups. Bajaj and TVS are the only mainstream two-wheeler manufacturers to have an EV in their lineup, but more are planning to jump on that bandwagon soon, including Yamaha.
Yamaha recently showcased two electric scooters – NEO’S and E01 – in India at a dealers’ meet. While this was only a product showcase, we expect the manufacturer to bring these two models to our market in the near future. The video below, posted by MRD Vlogs, shows us the unveiling event of these e-scooters.
Yamaha NEO’S is an urban commuter, with a range of up to 68 km, thanks to two swappable battery packs (50.4 V, 19.2 Ah Li-ion batteries). The scooter gets a few premium features as well, including smart key integration and a fully-digital LCD instrument console with smartphone connectivity. It also gets an LED lighting system, telescopic front forks, monoshock rear suspension, and a 27-litre underseat storage.
Yamaha E01 is a maxi-style concept scooter, which can deliver a claimed range of 104 km. It gets plenty of useful features, like all-LED lighting, a fully-digital LCD instrument console (with Smartphone connectivity and in-built SIM card), regenerative braking, drive modes (Eco, Normal, Power), reverse drive function, etc.
Yamaha NEO’S was launched in Europe last month, at a price of €3,099 (around INR 2.5 lakh), while E01 will be ready for retail in the coming years. We’re not sure when these two electric scooters will go on sale in India, if they ever will. However, with the push for electrification in the Indian automobile industry, we feel like Yamaha will surely add EVs to its lineup soon.
Yamaha isn’t the only mainstream two-wheeler manufacturer that is planning an entry into the EV market space in India. Honda will also do the same, expectedly with an electric scooter based on Activa. Suzuki is currently working on an electric version of Burgman Street, which is expected to go on sale here this year.