Yamaha

Yamaha Origins

‘I want to try to manufacture motorcycle engines.’

It was from these words spoken by Genichi Kawakami in 1953, that today’s Yamaha Motor Company was born. Genichi Kawakami was the first son of Kaichi Kawakami, the third-generation president of Nippon Gakki (musical instruments and electronics; presently Yamaha Corporation). Genichi studied and graduated from Takachiho Higher Commercial School in March of 1934.

In July of 1937, he was the second Kawakami to join the Nippon Gakki Company. He quickly rose to the position of manager of the company’s Tenryu Factory Company which produced musical instruments, and then Senior General Manager, before assuming the role of the fourth-generation President in 1950 at the young age of 38.

In 1953, Genichi was looking for a way to make use of idle machining equipment that had previously been used to make aircraft propellers. Looking back on the founding of Yamaha Motor Company, Genichi had this to say:

“While the company was performing well and had some financial leeway, I felt the need to look for our next area of business. Demand is something we create. So, I did some research.”

He looked into manufacturing many products, including sewing machines, auto parts, scooters, three-wheeled utility vehicles, and…motorcycles. Eventually, the market and competitive factors led him to focus only on the motorcycle market. Genichi visited the United States many times during this period, and he had his research division chief and other managers visit leading motorcycle factories around the country.

Yamaha Europe

In 1961, we took on the challenge of competing in Europe – the historical home of motorsport, where motorcycle culture has a history that spans over a hundred years. From then on, Yamaha’s motorcycle imports were handled by importers in each country throughout the continent.

To facilitate and build upon the increased demand, Yamaha Japan established a subsidiary in the region. This marked the birth of Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. (YMENV) on 24th October 1968 in the Netherlands. Establishing a unified headquarters at YMENV stimulated the import of a wide range of Yamaha products such as motorcycles, outboard engines, snowmobiles and later, scooters, ATVs, Side-by-Side vehicles and many more. YMENV also helps to coordinate and support our racing activities in Europe.