In hopes of rapidly progressing its EV efforts, Yamaha has been in the works of developing new electric motors sized for motorcycles as well as larger full-sized electric cars.
In a new video, Yamaha shows off a 35 kW unit developed for electric motorcycles in addition to a much larger 150 kW unit, designed for full size electric cars. In the video, we see Yamaha use a pair of the 150 kW electric motors to power a rear-wheel drive electric car.
We can also see in the video Takashi Hara from Yamaha’s 2nd engineering division in its Automotive Development Section, explain the company’s progress saying “We developed EV motors first with our motorcycles, and we’ve continued that work, but also combined the know-how from our engines to create these new units. The 35 kW unit was developed for all small mobility applications, including motorcycles. The 150 kW unit is for electric car applications.”
Hara also suggested that when producing the compact motor design, Yamaha relied on its existing production technologies stating “We thought making the units compact was paramount. Using our casting technology for the housings enables an extremely compact design. This all results in a very small unit overall.”
It is still unclear whether Yamaha will integrate these new motors into its own vehicles or offer them to other companies as platforms. With the lack of inside information regarding Yamaha’s electric bicycle division it appears that it has been surprisingly unproductive. However, with the release of this new video it’s clear that the company has been up to much more than we thought.