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Yamaha Motor and Hero Motors Company Sign Agreement for New e-Bike Hub-mounted drive unit Manufacturing Joint Venture ― Building e-Bike Hub-mounted drive units in India to supply the growing global market ―

October 29, 2021

IWATA, October 29, 2021—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Hero Motors Limited —which owns Hero Cycles, India’s largest bicycle manufacturer—to establish a joint venture company for the manufacture of Hub-mounted drive units for electrically power-assisted bicycles (e-Bikes). The joint venture is scheduled to be established by the end of this November, with Yamaha Motor holding a 10% stake and Hero Motors holding the remaining 90%.

Today, Europe is the largest market for e-Bikes and about half of the market’s offerings use hub-mounted drive units that house the electric motor in the center of the drive wheel. As the global market for e-Bikes continues to grow, Yamaha expects the prominence of these hub-mounted drive units to rise accordingly and signed the agreement to establish this joint venture with that in mind.

Yamaha currently offers proprietary center-mount drive units, which are set in the middle of the bicycle chassis near the pedals. By adding the hub-mounted drive units manufactured through this joint venture to its portfolio, Yamaha looks to raise the overall strength and capabilities of its e-Bike business and thereby secure future business growth.


New Company Summary

Company name Currently undecided
Location Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Established (planned) End of November 2021
Capital(at the time of establishment) 220,000,000 Indian rupees (approx. 328 million yen)
Business Manufacture of hub-mounted drive units for electrically power-assisted bicycles
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