Yamaha Motor Co has announced tthat its electric scooter EC-05 has won the ‘Excellent Product Design’ of the German Design Award 2020. Yamaha has won the prestigious award for the third year running, having bagged it earlier in 2017 (for the super-sports YZF-R1 motorcycle), and 2018 (for the XSR900).

In August 2019, Yamaha has first announced plans to launch the EC-05 electric scooter in Taiwan. The launch followed a year-long study with Gogoro for a working collaboration in the EV business in the Taiwan market.

Designed by Yamaha Motor based on the platform of a Gogoro production vehicle, the EC-05 is sold under the Yamaha brand through the sales channels of local subsidiary Yamaha Motor Taiwan. EC-05 owners can use the more than 1,200 GoStation battery-swapping stations installed in Taiwan by Gogoro Energy Network. Production of the EC-05 is undertaken by Gogoro.

The EC-05 is the fifth electric motorcycle launched by Yamaha Motor, after the Passol in 2002, the EC-02 in 2005, the EC-03 in 2010, and the E-Vino in 2014.

Yamaha Motor first entered the Taiwanese motorcycle market in 1966, and currently sells over 350,000  motorcycles per year, predominantly models produced at Yamaha Motor Taiwan. Development functions are carried out by Yamaha Motor Research & Development Taiwan, which mainly develops scooters for the Taiwanese market.

Gogoro first entered the Taiwanese scooter market in 2015, and is rolling out a new electric motorcycle business model through its in-house manufactured electric scooters and battery-swapping stations, where depleted batteries can be easily changed for charged ones.

Will Yamaha introduce the EC-05 in the Indian market, since it has the product up and running? Watch this space.