At Eurobike, Yamaha gave a preview of its upcoming PW-Link system. For the Japanese manufacturer, the motor concept could mark the beginning of a new era.
The world’s first commercial e-bike – it’s been 31 years since Yamaha pioneered the e-bike industry with its Power Assist System (PAS) in 1993. Over three decades and well over four million Yamaha e-bike drives later, the company has become one of the most globally renowned manufacturers of e-bike motors. At this year’s Eurobike, the Japanese company showed that it is far from resting on its laurels, offering a first look at its “PW-Link” concept, which aims to kick off the next generation of Yamaha e-bike motors.
The new Yamaha PW-Link concept
“We firmly believe that by working with our partners, we can offer the best solutions for our products,” explained Gabriel Kaneko, responsible for Overseas Sales, in a conversation with the Show Daily. “Specifically, this means that we want to focus on our core competency: developing strong, reliable, and high-performance motors. At the same time, we intend to open our system to other developers who can add features like electronic auxiliary systems,” he continued, hinting that Yamaha plans to intensify collaboration with third-party providers to allow for more tailored solutions for OEM partners.
“An urban e-bike brand needs a different solution and different features than a sporty e-mtb brand. Therefore, our idea is that both partners – the motor manufacturer and the bike brand – play an active role in the development process,” said Kaneko. An official launch date for the concept or even a new product line has yet to be officially announced, but the company plans to use the upcoming months to introduce the concept to B2B partners and discuss it in more detail. More information can be found here.