Yamaha India to concentrate more on scooters, to also roll out a Rs 27,000 motorcycle

India Yamaha Motor (IYM) is set to do a Tata Nano with their claims of building a sub-Rs 27,000 motorcycle for the Indian market. This announcement came right on the heels of the inauguration of the company's fifth global research and development centre, the second for the Indian market in Chennai. Yamaha's new unit, Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd (YMRI) is already working to develop this motorcycle for the Indian market. It is believed that Yamaha will also export this bike to Latin America and Africa. This small motorcycle will have a 100cc engine capacity or even more according to managing director of YMRI Toshikazu Kobayashi. He also said that there will be an India-specific model which will follow this particular affordable motorcycle.

Yamaha has etched a name in the Indian enthusiast's hearts and it now wants to expand this reach in the commuter segment as well. Developing the upcoming low-cost motorcycle in India will give the company a cost advantage and hence help them in pricing the motorcycle very competitively. The main goal will be fuel efficiency. With Yamaha also acquiring a 33.4 per cent stake in suspension maker KYB and moving its entire operations to India, things have got a lot more easier, factors which would not only improve the speed but also efficiency of operations. Not only this, Yamaha also has plans of launching new scooters every year by 2016. CEO and MD of IYM Hiroyuki Suzuki said that by 2020, the Indian scooter market will equal that of the motorcycles and Yamaha aims to capture atleast 10 percent market share by then. As of now, Yamaha only has the female-centric scooter, Ray on offer in the Indian market. However, expect the company to come up with new scooters in the 110-150cc segment. By 2014, Yamaha will also have increased the number of its dealerships in India from 1300 to 2000.

In 2012, Yamaha had made an announcement to invest Rs 1500crore for setting up its third facility in India. While initial production capacity of this plant when it goes live in 2014 will be four lakh units, it can be bumped up to 18 lakh units by 2018. A new R&D facility is also expected to start in Chennai by 2015 and while the low-cost models will be developed here, the Japanese facilities will be instrumental for making high-end bikes.

IYM's Surajpur unit makes motorcycles for both the domestic and export markets while the Faridabad plant manufactures parts for the motorcycles.