China’s Yadea Group Holdings, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, will enter the Japanese market in November, looking to challenge dominant brands like Honda Motor with a model around 30% cheaper.
“The Porta is compact and affordable,” said Yasumasa Hasegawa, president of Hasegawa Mobility, Yadea’s official Japan importer. “Its performance is suitable for everyday use.”
The Yadea Porta is a low-output electric moped categorized as Class 1 in Japan, meaning it can be ridden with a standard driver’s license. It can be charged using a household outlet, with a maximum range of 60 kilometers on a charge.
Its body features a retro design and color scheme to appeal to younger consumers. While some predicted a price in the JPY 100,000 (USD 680) range, it has been priced at JPY 217,800 (USD 1,480) after adjustments to comply with Japanese safety standards, including requirements for top speeds and turn signal positioning.
Yadea enters Japan while the government is tightening motorcycle exhaust regulations. The new regulations are on par with those in Europe and require future products to substantially reduce carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.
As a result of the change, vehicle manufacturers will cease production of their current two-wheelers at the end of October. Though each company plans to release gasoline-powered models that comply with the regulations, only Yamaha Motor has indicated a clear release window, in the first half of 2026.
Honda and Yamaha sell Class 1 electric scooters, but their cheapest models cost around JPY 300,000 (USD 2,040), roughly JPY 100,000 more than their gas-powered models. Yadea is offering the Porta at the same price point as established manufacturers’ gas-powered models.
Japan’s domestic two-wheeler sales peaked in the early 1980s, topping three million units per year. Factors like the country’s declining birth rate and aging population pushed sales down to about 320,000 units in 2024, one-tenth of the peak.
Major changes to the market like stricter exhaust regulations can present emerging players with opportunities. Yadea looks to expand Japan’s nascent electric two-wheeler market.
Yadea was founded in China in 2001. China’s two-wheeler market was once a stronghold of Japanese companies like Honda. But since the 2000s, there has been a shift to electric vehicles as a means of daily transportation, giving local makers an opportunity to leverage their low prices to control the market.
Yadea says its strength is in developing and manufacturing core components like batteries and motors in-house. It is known as the BYD of two-wheelers, referring to the Chinese electric vehicle giant, and boasts a high share of China’s under-RMB 5,000 (USD 700) electric two-wheeler market.
The company also is rushing to expand overseas, with sales networks in over 100 countries and regions.
“China’s domestic market is sluggish due to deflation,” said Hikaru Todoroki, principal at KPMG Consulting. “Two-wheelers are also in a state of overproduction, so companies probably want to sell their excess production overseas.”
Looking at the global two-wheeler market, Japanese manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki Motor, and Kawasaki Motors hold a combined share of over 40%, an overwhelming position built on their strengths in internal combustion engines.
But factors such as the push toward decarbonization are driving electrification. New two-wheeler sales totaled 59.9 million units worldwide in 2024, according to Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute, about 8.5% of which were electrified. In Yano’s optimistic scenario, the electrification rate is projected to reach 18.8% by 2035.
New challengers are emerging as well, including India’s Ola Electric Mobility, VinFast in Vietnam and Taiwan’s Gogoro. Some models have ranges of more than 100 km, offering greater convenience.
“Unlike for four-wheeled vehicles, the market for internal combustion two-wheelers is still expanding,” said Takaki Nakanishi of Nakanishi Research Institute. “Japanese manufacturers don’t need to be at the forefront of electrification.”
Issues such as high costs and underdeveloped charging infrastructure mean that electrified two-wheelers have not spread significantly outside of China and a few other regions.
But Japanese makers are not sitting idle. Honda plans to invest JPY 500 billion (USD 3.4 billion) in two-wheeler electrification by 2030. The company will launch 30 new models worldwide, targeting annual sales of four million units. The company aims for about one-fifth of its global sales to be electrified vehicles.
“It will take a bit more time before we can make a profit on electrics,” Minoru Kato, the head of Honda’s two-wheeled vehicle division, said at a briefing in Tokyo in January. For now, Honda plans to rely on internal combustion engine units while refining its electrification technology.
Yamaha also plans electrification for about 30% of the new two-wheeled vehicles it introduces over the three years from 2025. The company will electrify its existing models or introduce models from US startups in which it has invested.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.