Yamaha Planning To Launch At Least One Electric Scooter By 2030

With various legacy manufacturers like TVS and Bajaj having jumped on the EV bandwagon over the past few years, it looks like Yamaha is now developing their own electric scooters. In an interview with another publication, Eishin Chihana, Chairman of Yamaha Motor India Group of Companies confirmed that the Japanese manufacturer hopes to have one or two electric models ready by 2030. 

Chihana said that Yamaha’s Japanese and Indian teams have been working together closely over the past year on developing an electric scooter. He also stated that the manufacturer has not been very aggressive with their EV plans and has been working on other avenues in parallel as well, like their investment in River Mobility Private Limited in February 2024. Regarding Yamaha’s cautious steps towards developing an EV, Chihana said that it is impossible to make money on electric scooters currently and the reason that other EV makers have gone all out now is to have a large share of the market by the time the EV industry and its infrastructure have been fully developed. 

Another reason for the manufacturer’s comparatively slower approach towards EVs is that its target audience consists of Gen Z customers (in the 18-25 age group), who prefer petrol-powered premium motorcycles. Launching electric scooters in a hurry to maintain pace with their rivals will make it more difficult to generate sales, Chihana said. But at the same time, he said that electric scooters will have a market share of about 20-30% by 2030. Probably, that’s why Yamaha is planning on launching at least one electric scooter by then. 

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