India Yamaha Motor on Thursday said that its strategy is now geared towards establishing itself in the lucrative scooter market of the country.
As part of its top-down market approach, Yamaha, which until now was primarily manufacturing premium and deluxe bikes, has decided to become a dominant player in the segment.
Talking to Deccan Herald, India Yamaha Motor National Business Head (Sales) Roy Kurian said the company has already invested Rs 1,500 crore at its upcoming facility in Chennai, which is likely to be inaugurated by January 2014. “The Chennai facility will largely be used to manufacture scooters, besides handling the production of some of our bike portfolio,” he said. By 2018, the Chennai facility’s capacity will be ramped up to 18 lakh units per year.
Kurian said, “The size of the scooter market in India is estimated at 28 lakh every year, which is poised to reach 50 lakh by 2015, growing by about 25 per cent year-on-year.” He added that the company found it appropriate to foray into the market this year. The company recently rolled out 'Ray', its first scooter in the Indian market, priced at Rs 46,000 (ex-showroom Bangalore). The Ray is a 110-cc scooter targeted at women.
Localised product
“The Ray is conceptualised for the Indian market and is a 100 per cent localised product,” Kurian said, adding that the scooter is being produced at the company’s facility in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Kurian said that an investment of around Rs 750 crore has been made in the Surajpur and Faridabad (Haryana) facilities, with the former’s capacity expected to reach 10 lakh from the current 6 lakh by 2014. “Ray’s production will make up 40 per cent of the expanded capacity,” Kurian added.
Yamaha plans to sell around 40,000 units of Ray across the country by December this year, and expects the number to reach 2.5 lakh by 2013.
Depending on market requirements, Kurian hinted at Yamaha launching more scooter models in the future. “With the introduction of more scooters in the future, we plan to enjoy a sizeable market share of 10-20 per cent by 2015,” he concluded.
