The premium 150 cc motorcycle space has traditionally been ruled by Bajaj with their Pulsar 150 and Yamaha with their FZs and Fazers. The sports 150 cc segment has only one ruler – R15. However, competition is squaring up and we have seen plethora of launches in this price bracket and there is an interesting trend which is emerging…
After the first generation FZ, a series of cosmetic updates and color refreshments followed only to lead to a new FZ with a fuel injected engine recently. But it was also accompanied by a fairly significant on paper power/torque reduction which makes the new-gen FZ, one of the most underpowered motorcycles in this segment. Add to this, the advent of very potent competition in the form of Gixxer, Unicorn 160 and others…
In the higher sub-segment, R15 also has to face some heated competition. In a fairing-loving country bike buyers are considering its indirect rivals like Gixxer SF, Pulsar AS200 and Pulsar RS200 which are either cheaper than R15 (SF) or more powerful (Pulsar RS200).
To share with you how much of this has affected sales, here is a graph for you. Notice that in the last financial year 2015, Yamaha sold 20 percent more motorcycles in this segment as compared to the comparable FY 14. This includes R15, SZs, Fazers and FZs.
In stark contrast, the company in the present financial year so far (that is in the months of April and May 2015) have managed 37,595 units which is an average of about 18-19k motorcycles. In comparison they sold 46,664 units during the same period last year which means the company is trailing by over 9000 units. In percentage terms it is a drop of 19 per cent!
This is obviously a short term picture and it can not be conclusively said that there will be a definitive fall in a sizeable chunk of, say 6 odd months of this year. However, things may not go easy with the company since Bajaj is on the verge of launching its next-generation Pulsar NS150 very soon, apart from heavily promoting their bigger Pulsars within this space. Suzuki is also taking its Gixxers to places…
What do you feel.. will Yamaha be able to arrest the slide and this is a momentary drop? Or do you think competition will eat into their share on a continued basis…?
