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Old 2nd July 2014, 17:34   #1
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Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

Japanese two-wheeler major, Yamaha is working on a low cost motorcycle for the Indian market. The company aims to sell the bike at a price of US $500 (approximately Rs. 30,000).

While the company has not confirmed any timeframe for the launch of the bike and is not sure whether it will meet the US $500 target price, the company is working towards achieving its goal and considers the low cost bike important as it will help boost the company's market share.

Yamaha has good presence in the 150 cc segment, where it manages to sell about 18,000 motorcycles per month. The company is planning to consolidate its position in the segment and scooters before entering other segments.

At present, Yamaha is not a strong player in the entry level segment, which is dominated by Hero MotoCorp. Entering this segment could provide a boost to the company's sales and profits.

Yamaha sold 4.47 lakh motorcycles in 2013. The company is looking to raise the figure to 6 lakh units this year.

Source: Economic Times
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Old 2nd July 2014, 18:00   #2
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

Yamaha should bring the R6 or the FZ6 series in a CKD route atleast and get the interest going. The current line up FZ are the only bikes selling in numbers. But the market is hot for these 600-800 cc bikes which are far more affordable compared to the 800cc.

A $500 yamaha bike will have the worst value proposition of a bike coming from Yamaha. Yamaha are usually over priced and they sell for 1 the engine, 2 the looks. I still remember the Enticer actually selling in good numbers when people were not able to afford eliminator.

FZ1 is priced at close to 14L. Thats crazy money and FZ6 or R6 at around 6-8L would have a good market. I will be there
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Old 2nd July 2014, 19:33   #3
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

I think the target $500 pricing Yamaha is looking at would be an ex-factory price and when the product reaches the hand of consumers it will be nudging or even cross INR 50K mark which is standard for 100CC commuters. But having said that it is a herculean task to make inroads into the fiercely competitive 100CC market since the margins are paper thin and Yamaha will need all the tricks under it's sleeve to keep the production costs down for a new product which is built from ground up. But then Mahindra is putting up a brave fight so I see no reason in Yamaha failing (that is if at all they have any intention as reported here).
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Old 2nd July 2014, 20:59   #4
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

IMHO Yamaha as a brand more or less stands for sportiness, youthful/ aggressive styling, and raw power. But these things are not the ones which drive the $500 segment, people look for great mileage, reliability in the long run, easy and low cost maintenance and 'Fill n forget' ruggedness.

It will be really interesting to see Yamaha's take on this segment, Can they Re-do an RX100 ?
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Old 2nd July 2014, 21:59   #5
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

Some time back they were saying about resurrecting the RX100 brand in a 100cc avatar. Maybe this is it. Though how much they strip it, or the tech used or how they are going ro differentiate it has to be wait and seen.
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Old 4th July 2014, 14:57   #6
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

If I am not wrong, there was news about Yamaha working on US$ 500 bike a few years back too.

Then there was the news that they would start supplying parts for the RX and RD models sold in India, which never happened.

Yamaha messed it up in early 2000, by not capitalizing on the buzz created around the brand with the then RX series models, which were sold till 2003 and now they are doing the same mistake post the success they achieved with the R15.

This delay in launching newer models inline with the general demand of the consumer is robbing them of the numbers they are desperately trying to achieve.

All, we can do is hope that Yamaha India will get there act right someday before it is really too late.
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Old 10th July 2014, 23:07   #7
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

USD 500 sounds interesting, but the image what Yamaha left back is not something a budget bike. We all have set a higher target for Yamaha in terms of Performance. I don't mean it's a wrong move from Yamaha, but we may get a little more time to get used to it. Going by the past history of Yamaha, none of the budget bikes shown a good sales figure. Lets wait and watch.

Quote:
Originally Posted by abhi29 View Post
Can they Re-do an RX100 ?
Don't have to re-do an RX100. Plonk a FZ engine in RX frame with that old school look, I will be the first one to buy for that looks itself (though this combination can never come close to RX100, but something is better than nothing)
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Old 3rd November 2014, 17:27   #8
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

Yamaha has codenamed this project INDRA (Innovative and New Development based on Responsible Analysis). The bike will be developed jointly by teams from India and Japan with the Indian vendor community working with the company's R&D teams.

Link to Team-BHP News Article
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Old 5th November 2014, 10:42   #9
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Re: Yamaha developing US $500 motorcycle for India

Project name INDRA is fine. I just hope they name the resulting bike, Jawaharlal, and launch it on children's day.
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