Photo: Yamaha
On a superficial level, electric vehicles, no matter their type, seem to be the right solution to many modern-day transportation issues. Yet as soon as you dive deeper into them, you realize they too are plagued with problems, from the still at times uncomfortable charging times needed to get their fill to the issues of having to dispose of used batteries once they reach the end of their lives.
In time we are probably going to find solutions to all of these problems, and Yamaha's latest move on this front is a key indication of that.
The Japanese company decided to focus its efforts next year on providing owners of compact urban electric vehicles with a new way of getting more electricity into their rides: rent batteries based on a subscription, instead of charging the existing ones or buying new ones.
That sounds like a pretty cool idea. I mean, wouldn't it be easier to simply have a fully charged battery waiting somewhere than having to wait for tens of minutes for one to charge? Or, alternatively, wouldn't it also be cheaper than buying a brand-new one?
That's probably so, but as you all know, swapping the batteries fitted in most electric cars is not possible. That's why, at least for the time being, Yamaha will not focus on them. By compact urban electric vehicles the company mostly means those operating in the low-speed range, like say electric bikes.
The idea is to have a subscription-based service that would allow people to rent fully charged batteries as soon as there's a need for them. That should remove charging needs from the equation, but also the need to actually buy and own batteries.
The challenge for Yamaha will of course be to provide these rented batteries to those who need them in a timely manner. It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole exercise to deliver a battery to where it's needed in hours or even days.
That's why the Japanese will start operations of this idea in Europe next year under the umbrella of a new company called Enyring. This new entity, which will be based in Berlin, will have to devise swappable battery stations in European cities (at first the ones in Germany and later in the Netherlands). From there customers will be able to pick up their batteries as soon as they need them.
It's unclear at this point how much the subscription for the service will cost, but overall, it'll probably be a lot cheaper than going out and buying a new one. It'll definitely be a lot faster than recharging the existing battery, provided, of course, Enyring installs these battery hubs within reach.
Another advantage of this way of doing things is that Yamaha plans to remove the used batteries that are no longer suitable for mobility use from the market, and give them a second life as storage units. Once they are no longer able to do that either, they will be disassembled and recycled.
The Japanese company decided to focus its efforts next year on providing owners of compact urban electric vehicles with a new way of getting more electricity into their rides: rent batteries based on a subscription, instead of charging the existing ones or buying new ones.
That sounds like a pretty cool idea. I mean, wouldn't it be easier to simply have a fully charged battery waiting somewhere than having to wait for tens of minutes for one to charge? Or, alternatively, wouldn't it also be cheaper than buying a brand-new one?
That's probably so, but as you all know, swapping the batteries fitted in most electric cars is not possible. That's why, at least for the time being, Yamaha will not focus on them. By compact urban electric vehicles the company mostly means those operating in the low-speed range, like say electric bikes.
The idea is to have a subscription-based service that would allow people to rent fully charged batteries as soon as there's a need for them. That should remove charging needs from the equation, but also the need to actually buy and own batteries.
The challenge for Yamaha will of course be to provide these rented batteries to those who need them in a timely manner. It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole exercise to deliver a battery to where it's needed in hours or even days.
That's why the Japanese will start operations of this idea in Europe next year under the umbrella of a new company called Enyring. This new entity, which will be based in Berlin, will have to devise swappable battery stations in European cities (at first the ones in Germany and later in the Netherlands). From there customers will be able to pick up their batteries as soon as they need them.
It's unclear at this point how much the subscription for the service will cost, but overall, it'll probably be a lot cheaper than going out and buying a new one. It'll definitely be a lot faster than recharging the existing battery, provided, of course, Enyring installs these battery hubs within reach.
Another advantage of this way of doing things is that Yamaha plans to remove the used batteries that are no longer suitable for mobility use from the market, and give them a second life as storage units. Once they are no longer able to do that either, they will be disassembled and recycled.
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