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Yamaha stays cautious on EVs over battery cell imports
Business Standard··27 Aug
Yamaha Motor India is moving cautiously on electric two-wheelers because battery cells remain heavily import-dependent, said executive officer Hajime Aota. He said two-wheeler battery needs are about one-tenth the capacity of passenger cars, making local cell manufacturing hard to justify. Yamaha expects total sales and production to exceed 1.1 million units this year, up about 10 percent from last year.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Yamaha's cautious EV rollout means fewer aggressive electric-scooter launches in India in the near term.
- Two-wheeler buyers may see EV prices stay firm as Yamaha avoids chasing volume-driven discounts.
- Component suppliers could see continued reliance on imported battery cells rather than a rush to localise.
What's Happening
- Aota said in electric vehicles, buying cells and motors from vendors reduces automakers' role largely to assembly, pressuring margins.
- Yamaha has invested in a French electric mobility firm to explore regenerative braking systems for future models.
- Aota said Yamaha's roughly 3 percent market share does not reflect its competitiveness since it avoids the entry-level commuter segment.
India's Import Reliance On Battery Cells
- Yamaha said dedicated local battery cell manufacturing is hard to justify since two-wheelers need far smaller battery capacity than cars.
- Aota voiced conditional support for India's ethanol blending programme while urging long-term regulatory stability for manufacturers.
- Yamaha is benchmarking its Indian operations against its Indonesian plants, its other major global production base.
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