In a bid to gain 10% of combined scooter-cum-motorcycle market share in India by 2016, Yamaha is looking to introduce bikes with engine capacities above 150 cc. However, their major focus will be on the commuter segment and its huge volumes.
They have also made it clear that they will not set foot in the cruiser segment.
The company currently has a market share of 5 per cent in the scooter segment and 3 per cent (yes, only 3%) in the motorcycle segment. They are looking to push this share up in the coming times. Hence, they have a locally designed motorcycle and scooter as well planned to come to showroom floors by 2016. The locally made models should be lower priced, and hence would be capable of racking up good sales figures and giving tough competition to biggies like Hero MotoCorp and Honda.
However, there has been no clear announcement of the possible arrival dates of the bikes with engine capacities above 150 cc. If the much-vaunted quarter-litre bike from Yamaha is one of them, we are sure it will give a much-needed fillip to Yamaha’s market share in India, or at least a significant brand push!
In view of attaining an increased share of the motorcycle pie in India, Yamaha is also ramping up its production capacity in India. They currently have two plants, one at Greater Noida and the other at Faridabad. The Greater Noida facility manufactures the two-wheelers, whereas the Faridabad plant is into the manufacturing of spare parts. The Greater Noida facility has a capacity of about 10 lakh units per annum.
Yamaha had planned to kick start operations in its new Chennai plant by early next year, with a planned peak capacity of about 18 lakh units per annum. However, it has run into economic rough weather as the current downturn has made investments unfeasible. Work on the plant has been kept on hold, and Yamaha’s top-level management is studying the Indian Economy closely. As of now, the Chennai plant start-off date has been postponed to sometime in 2016.
Nevertheless, the bearish sentiments in the market haven’t had any effect on Yamaha’s new product plans. They are bullish about the hopes pinned on the new products, and will go ahead with the launch of the locally-designed scooter and motorcycle by 2016.
But what the whole country is interested in is the speculated, awaited for more than half a decade 250cc from the big Jap!
Read More: Yamaha Confirms the Launch of R125 Based 250cc Sportsbike!
Source- Economic Times
