[TusharK]

Yamaha Motor India's newly appointed chairman has said that the bike maker will be focusing on premium segments, while scooters may play a more mass-market role.



The premium segment mainly consists of bikes with engines larger than 150cc. The company is currently evaluating bikes with engines larger than 300cc and premium scooters in the 125-150cc category.

Yamaha is also planning to make an investment of Rs. 100 crore in R&D in the next 3 years. The company is aiming to achieve 10% market share and a volume of 2.5-3 million units by 2025.

While, reports suggest that Yamaha is likely to exit the mass market, the company will continue to export 100-110cc motorcycles to markets in Africa and Latin America.

Source: Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

[arijitkanrar]

They probably should've began this focus years ago with performance/lifestyle motorcycles slowly picking up pace in India. But then Yamaha has always been slow to respond to market demands in India. Only recently they introduced ABS in the FZ series bikes.
Most of Yamaha's India portfolio consists of motorcycles that are sports oriented. No doubt they are brilliant machines (I ride one myself)! But for someone looking for an adventure tourer or a retro cafe racer, Yamaha is completely off the list.

[bigron]

A little late to the party I should say.
Nevertheless, take a leaf out of the book that Kawasaki reads and it will give you an idea on how to capture the market and be present in a spectrum of segments from 650 cc commuters to the mighty H2's.
Having said this, their portfolio is not so diverse so it ll be interesting to see what they eventually plan to bring here.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by arijitkanrar

... Only recently they introduced ABS in the FZ series bikes.
...

When did that happen? Which bike?

FZ16 and FZ25 don't have ABS yet. Only by 2019 when the mandatory safety regulations kick in they are expected to get ABS I believe.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by bigron

Having said this, their portfolio is not so diverse so it ll be interesting to see what they eventually plan to bring here.

Can they PLEASE just bring the T7 Tenere here and be done with it and put at rest the misery of all souls living in this sub continent?

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Can they PLEASE just bring the T7 Tenere here and be done with it and put at rest the misery of all souls living in this sub continent?

Launching on paper is no issues. Showing seriousness to sell something other than Commuter Motorcycles and Scooters is another thing.

If anyone is interested to know, Yamaha was the first to take advantage of the relaxation of above 800 motorcycle laws and introduced the R1 and MT-01 way back in 2007.... which was actually to build a PLATFORM for the Mass Market R15 launched in 2008.

SIAM numbers show that Yamaha has ZERO sales in the past 12 months in anything above 500 cc (MT-09 and R1).

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by payeng

Launching on paper is no issues. Showing seriousness to sell something other than Commuter Motorcycles and Scooters is another thing.

If anyone is interested to know, Yamaha was the first to take advantage of the relaxation of above 800 motorcycle laws and introduced the R1 and MT-01 way back in 2007.... which was actually to build a PLATFORM for the Mass Market R15 launched in 2008.

SIAM numbers show that Yamaha has ZERO sales in the past 12 months in anything above 500 cc (MT-09 and R1).

Completely with you on this. Yamaha always has enjoyed a cult following in India from the RX and RD days. For years they kept disappointing with Liberos and what not. They launched 2 good motorcycles, R15 and FZ16 and the country responded. I really thought it was a good sign of things to come, but alas they went to sleep again. As much as I love Yamaha, I hate them for how they have treated India. Honda is high headed in India with their premium pricing, but Yamaha is even worse in my opinion. They have mostly been absent or half hearted at best at anything you can call premium above the 150CC range.

My friend wanted to test ride an R3. He was seriously considering it. He called Yamaha and got a dealer address for test ride. We showed up at the dealer and the dealer plain on our face refused for a test ride. We tried to put a bit of pressure on him that we will complain to Yamaha. What came of out his mouth for Yamaha and their sales practices was not very heart warming. He clearly said, we can do whatever we want. Yamaha had not supplied any test ride bike to him. What was worse was, for him to sell an R3, he needed to sell a specific number of R15s.


Honestly, I have no hopes from them. I love Yamaha. But sorry, no hopes from them in India.

Rachit

[arijitkanrar]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

When did that happen? Which bike?

FZ16 and FZ25 don't have ABS yet. Only by 2019 when the mandatory safety regulations kick in they are expected to get ABS I believe.

I stand corrected. Checked properly and yes its true. Yamaha bikes will only get ABS in 2019.
I guess reading too many auto-websites confuses you

Having said that it's terrible to think that Yamaha has to defer ABS till it becomes mandatory.
It is as if Yamaha has to be forced to provide features which have become basic. Since last september, I've had two colleagues who have purchased new bikes. I asked both to consider Yamaha FZ. Both took test drives and both ended up getting the Suzuki Gixxer SF. The reason was also same - lack of ABS in the Yamaha.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by TusharK

While, reports suggest that Yamaha is likely to exit the mass market

If anything, this is the real news! As typical of any press statements - they have just made it fashionable by saying that they are going to concentrate on premium segments, whereas the real reason looks to be their failure to penetrate the commuter segments.

Why scooters will become main stay? Because they already are - contributing to near 50% of sales!

Why 150cc segment and above is premium? Because they already have established products in these segments. And just be removing the non-selling entry level bikes, the company can become a premium player.

So basically - I don't expect any drastic changes coming from the company in the short term.

[neil.jericho]

Old wine in an old bottle, yawn! On November 6th, 2017, the same Economic Times published an article titled Yamaha India to focus on premium offerings (Link https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/61523224.cms).


Then on Feb 11th, 2018, the same Economic Times published an article titled Yamaha to focus on premium bikes, scooters in India (Link - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/62870407.cms).


And now this article from Economic Times in November 2018.


Yamaha really needs a shot of aggressiveness injected into them. Here's what I would do
- Launch R15 V3 with ABS , enough of the MotoGP livery and what not. Once the Aprilia RS150 gets launched at a slight premium, the R15 V3 will be finished.
- Launch the MT15 at the same time. The underpinnings are the same as the R15 so there will be substantial savings. It can be positioned between the FZ16 and R15 V3.
- Launch the MT03. Like the MT15, this too will be based on the faired equivalent so good cost savings. Pricing will be tricky though because of the KTM 390s but it might be good enough to grab some sales from the excellent KTMs.
- Bring in 50 (I was hoping for 100 all this while but seeing the 10R sales figures, that might be unrealistic) units of the Yamaha R6 and sell them through select dealerships. Maybe one in each state. That makes logistics management and service training easier. And its a good trial run of sorts to see if there is a segment ready to buy the R6.


The scooters will continue to sell for Yamaha, as they are for TVS and Suzuki and everyone else, especially Honda. With a bunch of new offerings in 2019, least they can keep existing owners within the Yamaha fold especially those upgrading from the R15. The R3 is not everyone's cup of tea and the FZ25 isnt the exciting upgrade. Yamaha would be wise to acknowledge that.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Old wine in an old bottle, yawn!

Some how Yamaha reminds me of Ford's debacles in India. Both came in with block buster products like the Ford Ikon/RX100/135 etc, and both are now left in the dust by other more mainstream competitors.

Both still have one or two main sellers, like the R15 for Yamaha and the Ecosport for the Ford.

Both have been in India for a very long time to not provide the excuse that they don't understand the Indian market.

Both have phenomenally successful block buster products doing very well abroad which are sure candidates for the Indian market.

And the Indian management of both companies seem to lack any spine at all in seriously tackling the Indian market. Ford has atleast tried...Yamaha needs to be

PS: That R6 will show only one unit "sold" to John Abraham LOL.

[shashant]

Any news if they are bringing NMAX 155 any time soon. That is still an untapped market and which suits their premium image as well.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Some how Yamaha reminds me of Ford's debacles in India. Both came in with block buster products like the Ford Ikon/RX100/135 etc, and both are now left in the dust by other more mainstream competitors.

I agree. I think Ford's mistake was not launching the Fiesta hatch, that should've been the spiritual successor to the original Figo. That hatch was a lot of fun, and the Fiesta sedan didn't do justice (either looks wise or fun wise) to the Fiesta it replaced.

Yamaha can still do well if they introduce Bolt and the like on one hand and locally assemble the R3 on the other hand, I think. The key here is pricing, with players like KTM and now RE / Jawa providing excellent value for money in the 300+cc space. I hope they don't do another Kawasaki and overprice everything.

Yamaha had a good thing going with the outburst of FZ16 when it came out, it was getting to be the new Pulsar. They should've ridden that wave and upped the displacement over the years. They didn't keep up with the market, and even now the FZ25 doesn't look anywhere near as aggressive as it needs to look, to appeal to that audience (rowdy, streetfighter college crowd). KTM has won those hearts.