The high level of enthusiasm associated with the Yamaha R3 is slowly picking up pace but, for some reason, it is not reflecting in final sales. While the bike is sold in India via the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) route, the high price tag has been a deterrent.
The only way to reduce the offer price would be to increase localisation levels, however, Yamaha seems to be in no hurry to do so in the near future. Speaking to Autocar Professional, Mr Roy Kurian, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Yamaha India, revealed that they do not have plans to work on R3’s localisation at this moment. However, he did mention that they will look into it if sales volumes justify the need.
Talking about sales – Yamaha sold 69 R3’s in the month of February 2016 and their total tally for this year stand at 706 units. For the last 4-5 months, R3 has been restricted to double digit sales after its best-ever single-month sales of 256 units in September last year.
Increasing localisation will involve a lot of factors – hunt out and identify suppliers who can make and supply international-quality parts and at a defined time frame. They will have to scout for the right ones and currently, Yamaha doesn’t deem it fit to spend time and resources on such a low-volume product.
The report also adds that due to slow current demand, R3 may also miss its initial target of around 2,000 units set for the first year. Mr Kurian added that he expects the R3 to end up at 1,500 units for this year, but like other products, he is hopeful and expects sales to pick up as the word of mouth spreads. They also do not intend to promote the product aggressively as they feel customers of this segment are already well-aware.
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For the moment, what they are really looking at is – increase sales by offering more scooters and commuter motorcycles. They have discontinued the Ray and Ray Z is transformed into a female-centric product. For boys, Yamaha will launch the new Ray ZR on the 14th of this month.
