The upcoming electric scooter feels very different from the River Indie
Quick News Highlights
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Yamaha had earlier partnered with River, and had invested in the company
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Upcoming Yamaha e-scooter gets a different design compared to the River Indie
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Could be launched sometime next year
The upcoming India-specific Yamaha electric scooter, which is being made in collaboration with River, has been spotted testing for the first time. The spy shots have revealed a new design and some other important details about the upcoming electric scooter. It gets a lot of similar cycle parts as the River Indie, and here’s a detailed breakdown of everything we’ve seen so far:
The main aspect in this scooter that stands out compared to the River Indie is the design. It uses a vertically stacked twin-LED headlight design, which looks relatively sleek compared to the twin horizontal square headlights as the River Indie. The front fender also looks different, and appears to be a lot more compact than the bulky one which we’ve seen on the Indie.
We were expecting the scooter to have a sportier design language, but it seems like Yamaha has decided to go for a maxi-style theme. From the front, the scooter has that boxy appearance which we’ve seen on the River Indie, but at the middle and rear, the styling is a lot sharper. The tail section has also been redesigned, with a single-piece pillion grab rail and a new taillight.
The scooter features a fat floorboard like the Indie, but misses out on the additional rider footpegs. Another interesting detail we observed is that the upcoming e-scooter appears to have a similar switchgear setup as the River Indie. Lastly, the console used on the test mule also appears to be similar to the one used on the River Indie. The console on the Indie is a 6-inch colour LCD unit, which offers essential readouts like speed, time, battery level, remaining range among others.
The scooter is likely powered by the same 6.7kW motor as the River Indie, and could also feature a chain drive transmission. We expect the scooter to get the same 4kWh battery pack as the Indie, and in the Indie, it offers a claimed range of 161km. Expect the motor to be tuned differently to suit the relatively sporty nature of the Yamaha.
As this upcoming electric scooter is based on the River Indie, it shares a lot of mechanical components in common with it. The scooter is built on the same chassis, and features a telescopic fork and twin-rear shock absorbers. The scooter rolls on 14-inch alloy wheels, with a braking setup that consists of a 240mm front and 200mm rear disc brake.
Overall, the upcoming Yamaha electric scooter seems to be more of a maxi-style scooter than a utility or family-oriented offering. Since this is spotted for the first time, it’s natural that Yamaha will take its time to tune and optimize the e-scooter for Indian riding conditions.
That means, realistically speaking, we may see the launch of the e-scooter only some time in early 2027, perhaps at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo (Auto Expo) 2027 in February. Expect it to be a more premium offering compared to the Indie, probably at around Rs 1.60 lakh (ex-showroom). It will go up against other performance electric scooters in the market such as the Ather 450X and the Ola S1 Pro.
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