Shitara indicated that India is a very important market for Yamaha and the company is keen to make the most of every opportunity here
Yamaha Motor Corp has a team at its Japan headquarters working on an all-new electric vehicle platform for India and other global markets, as per a recent report.
In a conversation with Autocar Professional, Yamaha Motor India Group of Companies’ Chairman Motofumi Shitara said the automaker’s new hybrid model of the Fascino 125 Fi is its first step towards entering the EV space in the Indian market, adding that it one of many technological advancements achieved in the field of electric mobility by the company which it plans to introduce in the Indian market over time”.
Shitara said that the Japanese-automaker has been manufacturing EV models in Taiwan for the last two years in association with Gogoro, thus affirming the presence of the technology and the expertise to develop and manufacture EV models.
Talking about the still-growing EV market in the country, Shitara said that the company is contemplating factors like pricing, performance, and infrastructure before rolling out any products for the Indian market.
This is only logical since the success of EVs “solely depends” on the acceptance of customers at large, which in turn is “only possible with proper availability of infrastructure, charging stations, battery production and swapping infrastructure”, said the report.
In Shitara’s view, there are bigger challenges related to investments that cannot be addressed unless the “Indian government lays down a clear roadmap” and a stable policy.
“Having said that we will continuously progress with globally competitive research and development activities and once all the aforementioned factors are addressed by the government, we will introduce such technologies for our customers in India at a large scale,” he added.
“The underlying message from the Yamaha India chairman is that work on electric is progressing at a serious pace back at headquarters. The fact that an all-new platform is being readied is also an acknowledgement of the importance of India which is hardly surprising given that it is the world’s largest two-wheeler market with an annual production of 20 million units,” the publication said.
Shitara indicated that India is a very important market for Yamaha and the company is keen to make the most of every opportunity here.
“In terms of shipping out components and vehicles to other parts of the world, we would want India to play a bigger role in the coming years. We have a strong R&D function here and a good collaboration with the suppliers who understand our requirements and who are open to innovation,” said Shitara.
