Yamaha pulls out of the U.S. e-bike business | Digital Trends

If you happen to have been in search of clues that the post-pandemic e-bike market reshuffle stays in full swing within the U.S., look no additional than the newest transfer by Yamaha.

In a letter to its sellers, the large Japanese conglomerate introduced it is going to pull out of the e-bike enterprise within the U.S. by the top of the yr, in accordance with Electrek.

“As you already know, the mixture of a post-Covid oversupply inside the complete bicycle trade, coupled with a major softening of the market, has resulted in a very difficult enterprise atmosphere the place this can be very troublesome to attain a sustainable enterprise mannequin,” Yamaha says within the letter.

Given these market situations, the corporate says it determined to withdraw from the U.S. e-bike enterprise and stop wholesaling models on the finish of 2024.

Yamaha launched the world’s first electrical power-assist bicycle motor in 1993. However it wasn’t till 2018 that it entered the U.S. e-bike market with a lot of all-road, mountain, and health/life-style e-bikes. That yr, it provided 4 model new fashions within the U.S.: City Rush, Cross Join, Cross Core, and YDX Torc.

With the intention to promote down its U.S. stock, Yamaha informed its sellers that it’s extending its Fan Promotion program, the place prospects can obtain as much as 60% off their buy of a brand new Yamaha e-bike. This system might be prolonged till June 30, 2025, and the corporate will proceed to offer components, service, and buyer help with its five-year guarantee within the U.S.

In response to Electrek, Yamaha’s e-bikes featured higher-end parts, elaborate frames, and in-house motors, which tended to place them inside a premium value vary within the U.S. market.

However as Yamaha itself defined, it seems that the primary motive for its determination is the provision overhang that adopted a Covid-pandemic increase in e-bike demand.

In one other signal of the market’s reshuffle, Juiced Bikes, a pioneer within the U.S. direct-to-consumer e-bike market, was final month bought at public sale for $1.2 million.