Yamaha Motor has announced a new agreement to be signed with India's largest bicycle manufacturer, Hero Motors Ltd. The two manufacturers will start a joint venture company to produce hub mounted drive units for electric bikes. This new venture will be established by the end of this November. Yamaha motor will hold 10% stake and Hero motors, which owns Hero Cycles, will hold the remaining 90%.

As the global market for e-bikes continues to grow especially after the covid-19 pandemic,  Europe has become the largest market for electrical bikes. Half of the market products currently use hub mounted drive units for its drive wheels,  and Yamaha predicts that the popularity of the hub mounted driver units will rise, therefore launched this new venture to take advantage of the new business opportunities.

Yamaha is offering its patented center mounted drive units located in the middle of the bicycle chassis near the pedals,  now with the new joint company, Yamaha will add hub mounted drive units to its products catalog, securing the business growth in the future and strengthening its e-bike business.

As Hero motors is located in India, the new venture will also be located in the Asian country,  holding an initial capital of 220 million Indian rupees (around 328 million yen).

The e-bike market can expect the new venture to be established by the end of November 2021.