Yamaha effectively confirmed its plan for electric production bikes in announcing it has reached an agreement with Saitama City in Japan to “promote low-noise, eco-friendly electric motorcycles and related business models”.
Called the E-KIZUNA Project, the scheme is intended to explore ways to promote electric motorcycles, to develop effective PR methods and to provide test-rides so people can get a taste of the future. It also intends to build “new business models leveraging EV motorcycles”.
Additionally, the venture aims to build a charging infrastructure and a system of swappable batteries so you can roll up to a filling station, switch your flat battery pack for a charged one, and get straight back on the road.
The fly in the ointment is that Yamaha’s only electric offering at the moment is the E-Vino scooter. And the new Saitama City deal is specifically about motorcycles; more than that, it’s about electric ones with a standardised, swappable battery pack.
Yamaha’s 2015 PES and PED electric bike concepts featured exactly that…
By Ben Purvis
