Electric vehicles are upon us and
Yamaha is taking steps forward with the Yamaha EC-05 electric scooter, using technology from Gogoro, a Taiwanese e-scooter maker.
Claiming improved range and performance from Gogoro’s large format 2170
lithium-ion battery cells, Yamaha will be releasing the EC-05 for the Taiwan
market in August, 2019.
Gogoro began in Taiwan with swappable battery packs
for e-scooters, allowing for riders to quickly replenish depleted batteries and
extend riding range. Gogoro has also pioneered e-scooter battery swapping in
European cities such as Berlin and Paris, in partnership with Bosch.
In partnership with Yamaha, Gogoro will be providing
swappable battery packs for the EC-05, allowing Yamaha to take advantage of
Gogoro’s extensive network of charging and battery swapping stations. Notably,
Gogoro’s 7% market share of the Taiwan e-scooter market is in the commercial
delivery sector, with rivals Kymco and Sym covering the lion’s share of the
domestic scooter segment.
While no real performance numbers for the EC-05 have
been released, the Gogoro 3 e-scooter is claimed to reach a top speed of 82
km/h for the base model, while the Gogoro 3 Plus reaches 86 km/h. Power comes
from a six kilowatt mid-drive motor that produces 180 Nm of torque at the rear
wheel – to put things in perspective, the 2019 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy with the
Milwaukee 8 107 engine puts out 145 Nm.
In terms of market development, Malaysia’s ASEAN
neighbours, notably Thailand and Indonesia, have taken progressive measures to
encourage the take up of e-scooters in the respective countries especially in
dense urban areas. This includes a pilot project by Honda for the Honda PCX
Electric in the Philippines and Indonesia, with lease sales already begun in
Japan.
