The difficult problem of battery power on light vehicles is still waiting for an easy solution. Adding enough batteries for the desired power and range is expensive and adds lots of mass. Consumers don’t want extended charging times, nor do they want to buy their own spare batteries. A swappable battery scheme seems like a good plan – it’s used in Taiwan by Kymco and other firms. But it’s a long way off at the moment in Europe.
Yamaha Motor Europe (YME) president and CEO, Eric de Seynes (above right), has stepped down and has been replaced by Olivier Prévost, currently vice-president of YME. De Seynes took the position as chair of the supervisory board on 1 January 2024.Now though, Yamaha has set up a firm in Germany to offer swappable battery services. ENYRING GmbH, based in Berlin, aims to produce a closed-circle ecosystem of recharging, re-using and finally recycling lithium-ion batteries for urban mobility transport systems. It’s aiming at e-bicycles initially and is looking for strategic business partnerships in that sector. However, the scheme is expected to extend into motorcycles, scooters, and other light vehicles if successful.