Yamaha’s E01 Electric Scooter Plans Revealed In Patent Filing

Yamaha filing for ‘Straddle electric vehicle’ patents revealing what may be a 125cc equivalent scooter.

Yamaha Motor Co., continues to increase their pace towards electric models. Now the company makes a way forward with new patent filings that reveal an electric maxi-scooter, the E01 scooter, which was previously shown as a concept by Yamaha at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, the E01 is intended to take the place of traditional 125cc ICE scooters.

To compete in the 125cc class, this scooter is expected to have an 11kW-13kW motor (about 15hp), but we would still need to see what peak power that would hold, as some motors would reach as much as double the power for a limited amount of time.

This E01 patent reveals that the company has made some significant changes from the first prototype presented in Tokyo in 2019, Where elements like really small mirrors and a shark-fin on the rear fender, which gave it a look that may attract viewers for a show stand but doesn’t look natural to a drivable scooter. In the patents, all these elements are out, showing us a great looking maxi scooter ready for a ride.

The design looks great from front to rear, starting with two LED light units up front, where a small plastic cap can opened to reach the charging port of the bike. Nifty little trend that is going on now, with putting the charging socket at the front/ nose. The previous seat was replaced with a much more traditional design, including a removable seat over plastic bodywork that encloses the storage compartment under the seat.

The main middle section of the E01 is taken up space for a large battery. As with the BMW CE-04, the battery sits streight down the middle- making this a maxi-scooter rather then a step-through.

This announcement comes right after the announcement of Yamaha, Honda, KTM and Piaggio to create an electric “Swappable battery consortium”. Despite that announcement, Yamaha actually made the battery on this bake Fixed into its place, which means this model will not be supported by the swappable batteries.

We are now seeing the next move by Yamaha for a stronger model to appeal to more audiences. After releasing their E-Vino in Japan local markets (only), the company will be aiming at global markets with their fully electric models.

As we have covered recently, the Yamaha Europe supported project, together with EMX Powertrain and ELEO, will compete with current 250cc 4 stroke bikes, and the company already ran tests on the motor power and output, but still needs to take this dirt model out to the track for further testing.

This puts Yamaha back in the game with electric models that we may see sooner than originally expected.

Check Out the image gallery from Yamaha’s unveiling in Tokyo 2019:

Source: WIPO