Yamaha Neo's

The Yamaha Neo’s is essentially an eco-friendly take on the original 50cc petrol-powered Neo’s that was popular in the 90s. And consequently, it retains some of the trademark design elements including the distinctive twin headlights. The e-scooter comes with a curvy yet compact looking bodywork, complete with rubber mouldings around the edges of the bodywork to protect it from minor scratches.

Notable features on the Neo’s include a smart key and an LCD instrument cluster with smartphone compatibility. It allows users to access functions including vehicle battery status, route tracking, viewing of calls and messages, and a generous 27 litres of underseat storage. Do note that this storage space will be affected if a secondary battery is used.

The e-scooter is equipped with a 50.4V, 19.2Ah Lithium-ion battery pack that weighs 8kg itself. If equipped with a single battery, the range is about 38.5km, which can be extended to 68km using a dual battery setup. Charging time with a standard AC charger is about 8 hours. It delivers 2.5kW of power(3.4PS) along with 136Nm of torque in its standard mode whereas the Eco mode gives out 1.58kW of power. The performance figures can be compared to those of a 50cc scooter and mid-spec high-speed electric scooters.

With such performance, the Neo’s will go up against the likes of the Hero Electric Optima and Ampere Magnus. Yamaha launched the Neo’s in Europe for EUR 3,005, which is approximately Rs 3 lakh, whereas these e-scooters’ prices lie between about Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000.