Yamaha aims for electric scooter dominance: Starting with the EC-03

Electric scooter set for Japanese market

15 July 2010 14:35 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

Yamaha has some bold aims when it comes to electronic transportation.

According to Motorcycle.com, the Japanese company aims to have three or four electronic scooters on the road by 2015 and then wants to be the leader in the field by 2020.

And it is kicking off its comeback into the electronic scooter market (remember the glow-in-the dark EC-02 in 2007?) with the Japanese launch of the EC-03.

The EC-03 will be classed as a 50cc scooter and is powered by a 50V lithium-ion Sanyo battery. It runs on the Yamaha Integrated Power Unit (YIPU), which has compactness at the forefront of its objectives.

It comes with a brushless DC motor, a control unit, planetary gear transmission and a drum brake all integrated within the 12-inch rear wheel.

The Yamaha EC-03 has an aluminium-alloy frame so it only weighs 56kg, which is 30 per cent less than a petrol-powered 50cc scooter.

It will cost you about £1820 (which is a bit cheaper than the Yogo) and it’s capable of travelling for 26.6 miles on a single 6-hour charge.