YAMAHA has filed for the rights to the name E01, which will be used for their electric scooter - first seen at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019.
The Tokyo Motor show is often the first look at many of the designs manufacturers had dreamt up as concepts - of course, not all designs make it past the concept stage, but the E01 scooter seems to have made the cut, the E02 (the 50cc equivalent) may not have quite done enough just yet.
2021 Yamaha NMAX specs & info
The filing for the rights will mean Yamaha will be free to use the E01 name on their scooters as of the 17th May 2021, but on the basis that nobody objects to their claim. You’ll be glad to know that so far there are 0 objections.
Along with the filing for the naming rights, Yamaha also filed for the rights to the intellectual property, meaning the design and appearance will be protected from copycats, and gives Yamaha the breathing room to use their own designs in future scooters and motorcycles, creating a signature look across the range. Similar to how features from the R1 pop up on other, lower capacity models.
What can we expect from the Yamaha electric scooter range?
The E01 scooter will have power equivalent to a 125cc combustion engine, and offer the typical electric benefits of recharging at home and simple maintenance and upkeep.
Alongside the E01, Yamaha also filed for the EC-05 name - relating to the scooter with an exchangeable battery unit - which would suggest we may be seeing the Gogoro smartscooter functionality in Europe too.
The basic principle is swapping out an empty battery for a fully charged one at a charging point, giving an instant full-charge and leaving the empty battery to be charged for the next use.
This is an already functioning system in Taiwan, so it seems Yamaha is planning for this same system in European cities & towns (and hopefully the UK).
