Announcement on Yamaha Motor’s third plant in two months

Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor will announce location of its third plant in the next couple of months as it plans to corner significant share in the motorcycle market.

“We are discussing possible locations for the third plant and decision on the same is possible in the next couple of months,” said India Yamaha Motor National Business Head (Sales) Roy Kurian while talking to The Pioneer.

“We will go for the State, which gives us maximum benefit on tax count and is strategically located for our operations,” he added.

Currently the company has two plants— Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana having a capacity of 6 lakh production per annum, which can be expanded up to a million unit.

Yamaha sold around 250,000 motorcycles last year and is now eyeing a share of 10 per cent in the domestic motorcycle market over a period of four years.

The third plant will not only expand Yamaha’s market share in India but will also facilitate exports to neighbouring markets in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

When asked about sales target for the year, Kurian said: “We plan to sell 3.3 lakh bikes in domestic market and export 1.7 lakh to other countries,” adding, “we are exporting engines to countries like Indonesia and others.”

Yamaha currently has 400 dealers and over 1200 touchpoints. The company is going very aggressive on this to realise its dream of having a significant share in Indian motorcycle market.

“The company currently has 1,200 touchpoints and we plan to expand that to 2000 ones by 2014. By then we will reach every possible locations,” added Kurian.

The company is also planning to foray into the scooter segment and announcement on the same is also likely in the next couple of months.

“Scooter segment is growing fast and, therefore, there is much potential. We will launch scooter for ladies and girls and announcement on the same will happen in the next couple of months,” added Kurian.

Talking in detail about the scooter Kurian said that it would be a gearless one having unmatched performance most suitable for a family.

Kurian also clarified on media reports that the company is planning any strategic tie up with Mahindra Two-wheelers.

“It could have been possible in the very beginning when Yamaha re-entered India. But after Yamaha products already a great brand name we don’t need any. This a complete rumour devoid of any substance,” said Kurian.

After receiving a terrific response from the recently launched YZF-R15 Version 2.0 coupled with the seasonal festivities, India Yamaha Motor clocked a growth of 26.8 per cent in motorcycle sales during October 2011 as compared to the corresponding period last year.

The company sold 47,240 units in October 2011 as against 37,251 units sold in October 2010. In domestic markets, the company sold 38,229 units in October 2011 as compared to 31,791 units sold in the same month last year, a growth of 20.3 per cent. The export figures stood at 9,011 units in October 2011 while 5,460 motorcycles were exported in October 2010, a growth of 65 per cent.