Yamaha India is planning to bring higher displacement motorcycles into action, specifically developing a product in the 300cc+ segment that balances the cost and performance aspect of Indian motorcycling. The new strategy involves developing India-specific products that are easy to operate and even easier on the pocket.
Yamaha currently has R3 in the 300cc segment, but pricing creates a straight gap of INR 2.2 lakh between the Fazer 25 and locally assembled racer. The gap includes soft segments like the one captured by Apache RR310, Jawa 300 and other quarter-liter plus motorcycles. Yamaha could even target Duke 390 and RC390 in India.
Yamaha plans to get 10% of market share, which is almost double the sales that they currently have every month. More than 2 million products are sold each month in India, with a large chunk of them being scooters with size-able displacement. Yamaha is also focusing to take the scooter segment higher by bringing 125cc-150cc options for those who love exploring the roads on two wheelers. Yamaha’s newly appointed chairman, Motofumi Shitara, has clear views of the future, targeting around 3 million yearly units before 2020.
Here is what he said about the development: “Yamaha needs to have a bigger foothold in the Indian market in the coming 5-7 years, reaching about 10% market share and volume of 2.5-3 million units by 2025. The company is studying motorbikes of above 300 cc and premium scooters with engine displacement of 125-150 cc.”
“With growth in India’s middle-class and the number of youngsters, people will move to premium bikes. We expect people to upgrade in the future and we will have a suitable portfolio to meet their needs. Majority of young customers like to have differentiated products and they are bored with the majority of the mass market models.”