Yamaha NEO is delayed, EV is under development phase.

Yamaha India was preparing to debut its Neo electric scooter in India. However, a lot has changed concerning India's legal framework and financial support for electric bikes. It also appears that Yamaha's plans have evolved.

The original idea was to export an Indianized version of the fashionable Neo scooter. Chihana assured us then that it would have a longer range than the 37 km of the Euro-spec scooter but that it would be challenging to match their competitors' 100 km range claims.

As time passed, Yamaha began to see that typical EV buyers in India differ from those in Europe who purchase EV scooters largely for environmentally good, green motives. People primarily purchase for economic reasons because of the high cost of petrol. That contrasts with our consumers who purchase internal combustion vehicles and motorcycles like the R15 and MT-15 for their aspirational value, style, performance, and economic worth. We are putting a lot of emphasis on creating a fun, fashionable, and athletic product. That is what a Yamaha is worth.

In light of this, Yamaha decided that if they produced an electric car, it should be "something exciting, something outstanding, something sporty," according to Chihana. He continued that the scooter should help strengthen the brand, but they won't pursue volumes. We, therefore, changed our course away from the Neos. Even if we speed the goods, I realise we won't add anything to our brand. We shall therefore take our time but provide something special.

Yamaha has already begun working on this project for India, and we anticipate it will take two to three years to complete.

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