Yamaha is setting up a battery swapping operation in Germany, in anticipation of this market growing in Europe. Battery swapping is already well established in Taiwan and other South East Asian markets, where electric scooter manufacturers such as Kymco and Gogoro have literally plugged into swapping systems. The idea is that riders turn up at a swap hub and exchange their low battery for a fully charged one, which could be handy for those who can’t charge at home.

Yamaha’s new enterprise, ENYRING GmbH, is based in Berlin and aims to offer a closed-circle system of recharging, re-using and eventually recycling lithium-ion batteries. Initially it’ll be servicing electric bicycles but is expected to extend to scooters and motorcycles later.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, said, “We watched the trials in Taiwan with great interest, as it seemed like a great idea. It’ll be even more interesting to see how it performs in Germany, where the electric bicycle market is huge. One question is whether it only applies to Yamaha batteries.”

Meanwhile, news comes that the giant ‘gigafactory’ planned for Somerset by Tata of India, won’t just be making batteries for cars, but two-wheelers as well. The factory is expected to start production in 2026.

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top images courtesy of Yamaha Motor