[Rahulkool]

IMO Yamaha has no strategy for this bike. I went to Adyar yamaha showroom few days back to check out Aerox. There was one single bike in the corner of the showroom, I asked the person there and he said that its a customers bike for delivery. I just had a look, wanted to see the ergonomics but didn’t as it was already sold. When I asked about the test ride bike, they said not available. Showroom experience was very cold, nobody offered any information, just answered my few queries. No info about test ride availability even in future. Why even launch a bike if you are not interested in selling?

Edit:- They told 20 days time for delivery. 3 colors available.

[IshaanIan]

I was interested in buying an Aerox ever since it launched and even took the time to visit my neighborhood Yamaha dealer who I have very good experience with. They politely explained that there was no Aerox with them. Then I called up the biggest dealer in my part of town and they told me the same story. One day on my way back home from work I decided to forget about the traffic and about getting home on time and instead stop by at another large Yamaha showroom where I was again given the same information. They all took my number and said they'd call me back but never did and now I'm not sure even I want to own it myself. I guess that instinctive consumeristic greed and admiration that I initially felt for it has evaporated. It no longer seems special enough to chase for me personally.

About spending 30-35 lacs on sprucing up a two wheeler showroom I think that is preposterous. What works is simple interiors with floors, walls and ceilings not cluttered with t-shirts or other silly merch, good lighting and a thoughtful few display vehicles. This is what grabs attention.

So first of all I feel the whole Blue Square strategy is just pish posh and not even attractively executed. Secondly why would anyone hang around and wait for Yamaha to sell the Aerox through "special showrooms"? It's a scooty at the end of the day. Someone who wants to buy a scooty and has extra money to spend, will buy it if they fit on it, as simple as that. No need to take half a year to come up with a marketing strategy after launch. Just sell the thing and make hay while the sun shines.

[MadRasTan4986]

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

IMO Yamaha has no strategy for this bike. I went to Adyar yamaha showroom few days back to check out Aerox. There was one single bike in the corner of the showroom, I asked the person there and he said that its a customers bike for delivery. I just had a look, wanted to see the ergonomics but didn’t as it was already sold. When I asked about the test ride bike, they said not available. Showroom experience was very cold, nobody offered any information, just answered my few queries. No info about test ride availability even in future. Why even launch a bike if you are not interested in selling?

Edit:- They told 20 days time for delivery. 3 colors available.

Please check with Bikerz Yamaha. They might not have a test ride bike. But you can ask them. We took delivery of the Vermillion Grey Aerox and managed to a get a test ride as well.

[maddy42]

This is well put by the channel Fortnine on dealerships and how they are getting squeezed by the manufacturers.

30% of a vehicles MSRP is for distrinution but you wont be able to cut that from your price.

Dealership wont have the money for the products, so the manufactuer finances them to hold inventory, past a month they need to pay interest on them. Yamaha finance made half as much as yamaha dealership. It is called floor plan. They are made to hold inventory of items which does not sell.

In case the factory is producing more then the dealer can sell, they are asked to hold excess inventory to get it off the manufacturers books.

Average it out a dealership earns 6% on the sale of bikes. All warranty related expense is done at a discounted cost.

Good watch so please do check out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meHYBhcpdvQ

[Rocketscience]

Well on one hand, being an R15 owner, I'am glad that a concept like this exists because the dealership experience in my case was poor and outdated, it was an insult to the kind of bikes Yamaha makes and it looked like a company that is on verge of shutting operations in India, sad state of affairs, which is true till today, in the said dealerships service center as well.

Looking at some action from Yamaha is very reassuring and the new dealerships look worldclass and somewhere i'd love to go but on the other hand they look somewhat of an overkill as well, even the biggest of car dealerships have one floor of showroom but these seem to be entire building of 2 floors, is this the minimum requirement?
Why would a bike maker like Yamaha need such huge space? Even Big Wing in Gurgaon is a single unit in a building and not the entire building.
Then again, this combined with the Aerox fiasco, the entire execution is amateurish at best and something totally in line with and expected from India Yamaha motors, they at the end of the day, only have/had the competent R15 which they executed really well in a lineup of botch ups and half hearted attempts or poor to no marketing.
The Aerox has exceeded their expectations means they were not serious about it at all, we can not expect Nexa or even Royal Enfield kind of expertise or execution from them, Yamaha is just not competent enough. (To be fair, they are no where near as successful as Maruti or Royal Enfield and don't do as much numbers or as serious in India)
It is pretty much a Public sector Ram bharose company whose parent company happens to produce some great, modern, reliable and world class bikes, most of which they don't even want to consider to bring here as their gamble R15 has paid off and they are happy selling just that. And the Fz which they have made no efforts in improving or making competitive with the likes of Apache and others, instead the bike makes less Power now than it did when it was launched in 2008, what a joke.

[neil.jericho]

Recently, I dropped into one of the two Blue Square Yamaha dealers in Cochin, to take a test ride of the MT15 and the R15. I was shocked to find that the permitted test ride is only on a service road for a distance of around 500 to 600 meters, in total. I didnt waste my time with such a pointless test ride.

Later, I did call up the Yamaha India national customer service, to share my feedback and request for a longer test ride. They promised that I would hear back from the regional sales manager and dealership, within 2 days. Nothing happened.

So much for Yamaha's much vaunted premium sales experience through their Blue Square dealers.

Meanwhile, a little birdie tells me that the 2023 R3 and MT03 will arrive in dealerships by April. With the promise of such a poor sales experience, I wonder how well these bikes will sell.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

With the promise of such a poor sales experience, I wonder how well these bikes will sell.

In one word - poorly. Yamaha is so far gone with the extent to which it (and its dealers) have lost the plot that they need some serious overhaul to pull themselves out of the rabbit hole they’re in. Heck - even Suzuki and Honda - which are fair to be described as fringe brands when it comes to superbike sales experience, offer more promise in their dealerships.

The Aerox is the one brilliant product from Yamaha and kudos for taking the one outlier step which I least expected from them. But in Mumbai at least it seems like a huge gamble to buy anything blue in the current dealer environment. I think down south relatively things are still perhaps better with the dealerships.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Axe77

The Aerox is the one brilliant product from Yamaha and kudos for taking the one outlier step which I least expected from them. But in Mumbai at least it seems like a huge gamble to buy anything blue in the current dealer environment. I think down south relatively things are still perhaps better with the dealerships.

Despite Yamaha having a very strong foothold in Kerala, the Aerox has not done well in the local market. The R15, despite its steep-ish pricing is a strong seller, in comparison. I cant imagine what the supposedly upcoming V5 will cost, on road!

That said, for a growing city like Cochin, we do have 2 Blue Square dealerships and I know for certain that a third one is working towards getting the required approvals to become a Blue Square dealership.

Originally Posted by Axe77

In one word - poorly. Yamaha is so far gone with the extent to which it (and its dealers) have lost the plot that they need some serious overhaul to pull themselves out of the rabbit hole they’re in. Heck - even Suzuki and Honda - which are fair to be described as fringe brands when it comes to superbike sales experience, offer more promise in their dealerships.

The game has moved on, but Yamaha is still stuck in its PPT-ware Blue Square = mindshare thought process. Sometimes, I wonder if it is a blessing that Yamaha hasnt launched the R7 yet ....

[Sebring]

The Aerox is a superb machine and I'm happy with the service in Banashakari. They've become good friends now. Even the sales guys are eager to offer test rides over here, but if I approach other dealerships it is really a pain. Yamaha needs to train their field force

[rohitoasis]

I have seen quite an upsurge of Aexox scooters in my town. I caught up with a guy at a signal and i came to know that sales and service are now available even in my town. Even though i asked twice to double confirm. I still cannot believe it is true. I am fairly certain Palakkad does not have a blue square showroom. So i think Yamaha has diluted their original vision for Blue Square and are offering Sales and Service through quite a lot more showrooms. If anybody can validate this information. It will sure do a lot of good to this scooter.

[Sebring]

Basic service and oil change can be done by any showroom. If I need parts (in Bengaluru) then they place an order and Yamaha will dispatch. So this shouldn't be a thing to worry

Originally Posted by rohitoasis

So i think Yamaha has diluted their original vision for Blue Square and are offering Sales and Service through quite a lot more showrooms. If anybody can validate this information. It will sure do a lot of good to this scooter.