Yamaha Set To Regain Its Lost Ground
Jun 05, 2008
The motorcycle segment has slowed down and bike makers are talking of flat sales for another quarter. But the high end, bigger bike segment, is showing no such signs of slowing down. In fact, Yamaha Motor India Pvt Ltd is betting on that segment, having sold 67 bikes priced over Rs. 10 lakh in the past six months.
“We have sold 67 units of the 1700 cc MT O1 cruiser bike and the YZF R1, a 1,000 cc racing motorcycle that were launched in November last year,” Yutaka Terada, group head, dealer development and planning, Yamaha Motor India, said. These are imported as completely built units (CBUs).
Set for a June 11 launch is the YZF R 15, a 150 cc liquid cooled bike, which is expected to carry an ex-showroom price tag of Rs. 1 lakh, ex showroom, and made at its Surajpur plant. This will be followed by the FZ, the 150 cc air cooled bike which it showed at the Delhi Auto Show in January and is slated for an October launch.
“This is the new Yamaha, from 2008 on and we are all set to regain our lost ground. During this year, we are targeting the sale of 20,000 bikes. As the new Yamaha, we are launching a new dealership look, with a design change, a new strategy, where our direct shops, the apparel and accessory stores have a role to play,” Mr Terada said.
“Pune is a very big market for us but we have a very low penetration here. Our market share is around 2% here and we are targeting at least 10% in the near future,” Mr Terada said. This is a sharp fall from a few years ago, when it had a 40% market share.
