Yamaha Motor plans to launch scooters

Yamaha Motor India (YMI), a fully-owned subsidiary of the $12-billion Japanese auto major Yamaha Motor Company, plans to foray into the fast growing automatic scooter segment.

Yamaha, which has several scooter models, ranging from 110 cc to 400 cc, is evaluating the right segment to foray into the Indian market. YMI managing director and CEO Tomotaka Ishikawa told ET, “We will enter the scooter market but are yet to finalise the segment and the products. Once we introduce our new range of bikes in early 2008, we will concentrate on the right kind of scooter for the Indian market. We plan to hit the premium segment first and target customers who prefer to go for style and power rather than use scooters for their commuting needs.”

The company is likely to introduce its automatic range of scooters with dual disc brakes and twin-shock chassis with high-powered liquid cooled engines in the premium segment. It may also hit the entry-level segment with its fuel-injected 125 cc four-stroke engine and compact-sized urban scooters. YMI has already commissioned a market survey to determine different volume generating scooter segments in India.

“We will have India-specific products, though our high-powered range in Europe and sub-150 cc Asian models could also be considered. We will bring new and better features in our scooters with comfortable suspension which will meet high safety standards,” Mr Ishikawa said.

Yamaha Majesty 400 Motoscooter

As part of its Rs 1,000-crore restructuring plan, YMI will increase its portfolio from the current three bikes it sells in the domestic market. While its high powered 150 cc to 250 cc scooters will hit the urban markets, the 100 cc to 125 cc scooters will target smaller cities and towns.

With a slew of launches in different segments, Yamaha is aiming to dent the scooter market which has remained positive despite the slump in two wheeler sales. While motorcycle sales, which forms 85% of the market, has fallen by 15%, scooters sales grew by 20% to 5.30 lakh units in the first half of this fiscal.

YMI will compete with Japanese arch-rival Honda Motorcycle & Scooter, which commands a 50% marketshare while TVS Motors and Hero Honda also sell a significant number. Recently Suzuki Motorcycles India and Kinetic Motor Company have also joined the fray by launching new scooters in the 125 cc segment while the Ludhania-based Hero Cycles has also introduced a wide range of electric scooters in technical collaboration of Ultra Motors of UK.


Source:- Economictimes.indiatimes


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Yamaha to invest Rs 250 cr

Yamaha is investing Rs 250 crore to set up a new subsidiary in India. Yamaha plans to not only use this subsidiary to import its high-end super bikes and speciality vehicles like snow mobiles, golf carts and all terrain vehicles into India, it also plans to forge local partnerships through the new entity. Yamaha has indicated it will pump in Rs 500 crore in the new subsidiary in two years.

In its application to the government, Yamaha has indicated that it is “currently in the process of identifying a partner for the proposed subsidiary company”.

The partner, it said, “may be an Indian or foreign entity and may subscribe up to 30% of the equity share capital” of the new subsidiary. The details of the new partnership will be submitted once the partner is “identified and finalised” said the application. Yamaha was, at one point, seriously talking to Bajaj Auto for a possible alliance in the motorcycle segment. However, industry sources say, those discussions are currently on the back burner.

According to the proposal, the new subsidiary will make, market and export two-wheelers and parts, import two-wheelers and parts not made in India and import other products from its global portfolio like all terrain vehicles, outboard motors, snow mobiles, generators, multi-purpose vehicles, water pumps, electric hybrid bicycles, racing and golf carts.

Yamaha has already announced it will launch two super bikes from its global stable in India in fully-imported form. These are the R1 and MT01. So far, Yamaha has invested just short of Rs 1,700 crore in India. Two years ago, the company bifurcated its operations into two subsidiaries - Yamaha Motor India for manufacturing and Yamaha Motor India Sales for marketing.

Source:- Economictimes.indiatimes


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Bike Cos get ready to face Rs 1 lakh car

Ratan Tata’s Dream the Rs 1-lakh car isn’t just making MNC auto majors like Renault rewrite their strategies, India’s two-wheeler majors are also changing there strategies. While some bike makers like Bajaj and Hero Honda have already shown their interest in entering the car market, others are planning to concentrate on performance bikes which, they think, won’t compete with cars.

Suzuki Motorcycles India sales & marketing veep Atul Gupta said, “The cheaper car would impact the entry level two-wheelers. So we would aggressively pursue the totally different 150cc to 200cc performance bike segments in India. Another category identified by us, which won’t be impacted by the Rs 1-lakh car, would be automatic scooters, whose market is consistently growing and many new launches are on the anvil.”

Suzuki’s Japanese compatriot Yamaha Motorcycles shares the same philosophy. “Of late, our strategy in the Indian market has been different. Knowing that mini cars planned by Tata and other players (Bajaj-Renault) would hit hard the commuter bike segment, we have finalised plans to de-risk our business. We want to have good presence in the performance segment, which would not compete with cars as they occupy a different space altogether. While the entry-level cars are meant for commuting, performance bikes are for lifestyle and thrill,” a senior Yamaha official said.

Yamaha, despite being a top two-wheeler player globally with over 25% market share has failed to charm Indian bike lovers so far and is re-inventing its gameplan in India with a clear focus on high-powered bikes. The new strategy is in keeping with the shift in customer preferences. Already, a healthy chunk of customers are moving directly to cars instead of first buying a two-wheeler. In the used car market, almost 30% customers move directly to cars while another 40% upgrade from two-wheelers.

Maruti-Suzuki India’s senior executive Ravi Bhatia said , “There is a great mismatch in the used car market. The demand simply outstrips supply. Increased incomes have changed the pyramid with cars, even the used ones, being preferred over two-wheelers” .

The overall two-wheeler market in India has shrunk to 17.42 lakh units in the April-June quarter, a fall of 9%. The anticipated slowdown is reflected in the way leading players — the Munjals of Hero group, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors — are moving into new product lines. Bajaj Auto has started parleys with Renault while the Munjals are diversifying into three and four wheelers and Rs 15k - Rs 25k bike to hedge their business risks. India’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motors has already diversified into three-wheelers.

J D Power Asia Pacific’s India director Mohit Arora said, “The two-wheeler industry would be the first casualty of the Rs 1 lakh car. The performance bikes (over 150 cc) would sustain the impact, as they are an aspiration-driven market, but the commuter segment bikes (100 cc to 125 cc) would be replaced by the small car.”

The motorcycle market is witnessing a slowdown with negative growth in the past six months forcing all players to undertake remedial measures like production cuts and marketing aggression. The first quarter of the fiscal has been worst for the two-wheeler industry with a 15% dip at 13.78 lakh units.

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Superbikes are finaly coming

Yes, they are finally here. The macho 1670cc V-twin power cruiser MT-01 and the slick 998cc R1 are already lazing around in Yamaha’s garage in downtown Delhi. By the end of next month, the Jap bike maker is going to announce the price of their super bikes.

“We are putting in place the after-sales infrastructure now. It’s very important to have a solid back-up in place for these bikes. Technicians have to be specially trained to service these machines because they are highly sophisticated,” a Yamaha spokesperson said.

That’s not all. Yamaha also intends to train customers in the skills necessary to handle these superfast motorcycles. These super bikes will be sold for an estimated Rs 11-13 lakh, and when you are coughing up that amount of money, you expect the service back up to be spot-on.

Forty-five-year-old Arun Thareja, who is a super bike specialist and owns three of them, says, “People are going to go down on these bikes, so more than after-sales support, companies should be ready with spare parts like panels, indicators, panels and wind screens. And oh yes, the tyres wear out every 7,000-8,000 km, so the sales department should have a good stock ready. I think one or two service centres in each city would do.”

Even Suzuki is keen to launch their super bikes here. Says Atul Gupta, VP-marketing at Suzuki Motorcycles and Scooters India: “We are keenly studying three aspects of selling high-end bikes. One is how well can we homologate our high-end bikes for Indian conditions. Also, we are looking at what are the top cities where we see maximum sales potential and then the question of how well we manage to handle the after-sales and parts issues.”

So, companies planning to launch their top-end bikes here feel that after-sales service is what they should look into first. “We are already ensuring that Suzuki’s technical team is trained in Japan to handle those bikes who, in turn, will train our dealers in India. Training does not incur lot of cost; in fact, most Suzuki dealers have enough space, which is the biggest cost for them. But we are working out a very sound after-sales strategy for being able to sell our high-end bikes in the country,” Gupta adds.

Even Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is bullish about the niche market that India offers for super bikes. Says Sanjay Gupta, senior manager, marketing at HMSI: “We will be going forward by introducing safety riding skills first. We already have simulators in place at some of our dealerships where a customer is put through various emergency situations. At present, we are putting in place the basic infrastructure before introducing the big bikes here.”

So when you have a machine that accelerates from 0-100 kph in less than three seconds and has a top speed of 300 kph, it’s imperative for bike makers to have the necessary service infrastructure in place. And who knows, on Indian roads, an ambulance service also doesn’t seem very far fetched!

Source:- Economictimes.indiatimes

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Engine
Type 998cc, liquid-cooled, 20-valve, DOHC, inline four-cylinder

Bore x Stroke 77 x 53.6mm

Compression Ratio 11.5:1

Carburetion Fuel injection

Ignition Digital TCI

Transmission 6-speed w/multi-plate clutch

Final Drive O-ring chain


Chassis

Suspension/Front 43mm telescopic fork w/adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping; 5.1" travel

Suspension/Rear Single shock; adjustable spring preload and rebound damping; 5.1" travel

Brakes/Front Dual 320mm floating discs w/4-piston calipers

Brakes/Rear 245mm disc w/single-piston caliper

Tires/Front 120/70-ZR17

Tires/Rear 190/50-ZR17

Dimensions

Length 84.3"

Width 30.3"

Height 47.4"

Seat Height 32.1"

Wheelbase 57.5"

Rake (Caster Angle) 25.0°

Trail 4.3"

Fuel Capacity 4.75 gal.

Oil Capacity (with oil filter change) 3.8 L

Dry Weight 438 lbs.

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Yamaha to bring R1 and MT-01 in INDIA

Yamaha Motor India (YMI) has decided to launch there 1000cc YZF-R1 and 1670cc MT-01 Superbikes in INDIA this year. The company will import these ‘superbikes’ making it among first bike makers in the country to take advantage of the government’s recent announcement to allow the import of bikes over 800cc.

2007 Yamaha R1

The R1 has already been homologated and approved by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and sales are expected to start once the company receives the first lot of imports from YMI’s parent. Although no time has been specified for the imports, YMI’s CEO & Managing Director, Tomotaka Ishikawa said efforts are being made to introduce the bike at the earliest.

"The marketing team at Yamaha Motor India had an aggressive target for the R1, but I cut that into half. These bikes are not meant for business but to create an image," Ishikawa said. He stopped short of committing any numbers, but said "it could be a few dozens."

Yamaha MT 01

The other big bike, MT-01, is currently under homologation at ARAI. The only issue as of now is the availability of the bike for sale in India. Production of the MT-01 has been wrapped up in Japan, and the company is now looking to source it from Yamaha’s operations in the US and Europe.

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