BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Yamaha has announced the upcoming opening of a dedicated E-Ride Base, designed as an experiential e-bike showroom.
Located in Yokohama, and operated by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. the dedicated showroom – scheduled to open on June 6 – offers people the opportunity to experience Yamaha’s e-bikes, with visitors getting a free 30-minute rental of its line-up of e-bikes as well as guided tours through the port city of Yokohama.
The facility also features a massive 180° theatre screen showing a variety of content and a comfortable lounge where visitors can enjoy green tea harvested from Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture, the birthplace of electric-assist bicycles and hometown of the Yamaha e-bike.
The E-Ride Base will offer visitors, both domestic and international, the opportunity to see the city from a different perspective while getting a first-hand experience of Yamaha’s e-bikes in the home country of the business.
Yamaha e-bikes on the global stage
Late 2022 saw the brand launch an extended range of e-bikes under its own name, following an extended period supplying motors to a variety of bicycle brands. The offering includes three own-brand electrically assisted cycles, covering the mountain, gravel, and urban sectors.
The Moro 07, Wabash RT, and Crosscore RC models became available through Yamaha’s two-wheel dealers in late 2022. To support the launch, Yamaha has also developed an omnichannel buying system for customers – a new e-commerce platform working in partnership with the new network of E-Bike Experience Centres operating within Yamaha’s existing European PTW network.
The key advantage of the omnichannel system is that customers can visit a Yamaha E-bike Experience Centre to see and feel the e-bike, take a test ride and seek advice from the fully trained dealer personnel before placing their order.
French manufacturing for a Japanese brand
March of 2024 saw the business officially open its European Production Hub for electrically power assisted bicycle drive units – a strategically targeted expansion into pivotal European markets.
Seen as an essential move, this initiative – part of Yamaha Motors efforts to expand the scale of its electrically power-assisted bicycle business – was identified as a growth area in the Company’s Medium-Term Management Plan.
Since 2022, the Company has been supplying the PW-S2 unit to European bicycle manufacturers after commencing its production in Japan. However, by also manufacturing the PW-S2 in Europe, this will further streamline logistics and significantly reduce lead times.
