Honda, Yamaha, KTM and Piaggio have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the development of replacement batteries for light electric vehicles such as electric motorcycles and scooters.
The four electric motorcycle manufacturers announced the creation of the new consortium to oversee the swappable battery development program.
The statement announced about the agreement is as follows:
“The founding members of the consortium believe that the availability of a standardized battery exchange system would both promote the widespread use of light electric vehicles and contribute to a more sustainable life cycle management of batteries used in the transport sector .”
The new consortium will begin its initial activities in May of this year and is inviting other companies to join the program.
This news follows a similar joint venture between the Japanese Big Four – Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki – announced in late 2019.
These four companies had already made considerable progress collaboratively after starting prototype testing in September last year. It is now unclear whether this new consortium will replace the existing Japanese Big Four consortium, or continue as a separate entity.
The focus of the battery swap system being designed by the consortium members will not be limited to electric motorcycles, as the companies made clear:
“The aim of the Consortium will be to define the standard technical specifications of the battery exchange system for vehicles belonging to the L category (mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles). The founding members of the Consortium will participate in the creation of international technical standards as they work closely with stakeholders and national, European and international standardization organizations.”
The new partnership could help the four companies accelerate their respective electric vehicle programs.
Source of information: electrek.co
