Yamaha is the latest two wheeler maker in India to plan electric two wheelers for the Indian market. The company’s Research and Development India MD Yasuo Ishihara has said that the company is conducting a feasibility study of electric two wheelers for the Indian market.
Here is what he said,
We are at present conducting a feasibility study in this area (electric two wheelers). Yamaha has an edge in this segment as we already have such products in other countries. Transferring such products to India, it is not so difficult. I believe that the EV products cannot be the complete replacement to the current internal combustion engines. This is the one of the biggest study points. We have already started our feasibility study in order to achieve this target set by the government of India but at the same time we will continue to develop more highly efficient engines in order to cater to the demands of Indian customers. Investment shall mainly be for power units and batteries. Infrastructure development in collaboration with some partners may be another area where we would look forward to make our investments.
Yamaha already has technology ready for electric two wheelers. If the feasibility study that the company is conducting in India returns positive results, it will go ahead with launches. However, it does not believe that electric two wheelers will totally replace the internal combustion powered vehicles. So, Yamaha plans to continue selling both electric and petrol powered two wheelers for the time being. The company is trying to come up with a strategy that is complementary to the Indian government’s push towards electrifying all vehicles that run on Indian roads by 2030.
Like Yamaha, there are many other two wheeler makers in India who have evinced interest in electric vehicles. Bajaj Auto plans to launch a new brand to sell electric two wheelers while TVS Motors plans to launch the Jupiter electric scooter next year. Hero MotoCorp has also revealed plans to launch electric vehicles in the future.
Via ETAuto
