VOLUME 58 ISSUE 9 MARCH 2, 2021 P29
KTM AG Signs On With Honda, Yamaha
In Swappable Batteries Consortium
K
TM AG announced on March
1 that the company has
signed a Letter of Intent with
Honda Motor Co., Ltd, Yamaha
Motor Co., Ltd and Piaggio & C
SpA to set up a Swappable Bat-
teries Consortium for Motorcy-
cles and Light Electric Vehicles.
In the context of the Paris
Climate Agreement and the
development of electromobil-
ity, the founding members of
the consortium believe that the
availability of a standardized
swappable battery system would
both promote the widespread
use of light electric vehicles and
contribute to a more sustainable
life-cycle management of batter-
ies used in the transport sector.
"Sustainability is one of the
key drivers to the future of
mobility and electrification will
play a major role in achieving
this goal," said Stefan Pierer,
KTM AG CEO. "For powered
two-wheelers, the constraints
of electric drivetrains regard-
ing range, charging time and
initial cost are still evident. To
overcome these challenges
and provide a better customer
experience, a swappable battery
system based on international
technical standards will become
a viable solution. Considering
the entire lifecycle, a wide-
spread application of batteries
compliant with a common stan-
dard will support secondary use
as well as circular economy. We
are glad to be part of the Con-
sortium as we strive towards our
goals in the e-mobility sector."
The Consortium will start its
activity in May 2021. The four
founding members encourage
all interested stakeholders to
join the cooperation to enrich
the consortium's expertise.
CN
KTM AG and other OEMs are
working on a way to standardize
motorcycle and light electric
vehicle batteries.
