Dhoom Machale

New Delhi: While car makers in India are in the race to introduce low-cost vehicles, including the Rs 1-lakh car from Tata, Japanese bike maker Yamaha has introduced two bikes priced over Rs 10-lakh to restart its ride in India.
Yamaha Motor India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Company, which had been struggling to woo Indian customers, now wants to re-establish itself in the premium segment with the launch of the two sport motorcycles – MT-01 and YZS-R1 – priced at Rs 10.5 lakh each (showroom price).

Both 998cc-powered YZS-R1 and 1680cc-powered MT-01 would be brought in India as completely built units. Yamaha would initially retail these sport bikes from its five dealers in the four metro cities.

‘‘We want to re-establish ourselves as a company which delivers high quality and high performance product,” Yamaha Motor India CEO and MD Tomotaka Ishikawa told Mumbai Mirror. “We have plans to introduce more high-end bikes, including the FZ-1, FZ-6 and R-6, in India. But it all depends on the demand pattern of these two super sports bikes.”

Currently, the government levies 110 per cent duty on these bikes. ‘‘Favourable market demands and further duty reduction can help us roll out such super motorcycles in the next few years,’’ he said.

Ishikawa said the company targets to sell 24 super-bikes in a year and expand its dealership for these bikes to 50 by 2010.

Yamaha is the first two wheeler company to introduce this genre of super sports and torque sports performance bike in India.

YZF-R1 and MT-01 have gained immense popularity globally and have been instrumental in successfully demonstrating the technological superiority of Yamaha worldwide, the company said.

Notably, most two-wheeler makers, including Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS, are still enjoying their rides between the 100cc and 250cc segment.

“The rising number of big-bike enthusiasts coupled with increasing levels of income makes India one of the most important markets for Yamaha,” Ishikawa said.

With the new launches, Yamaha aims to enrich Indian biker’s riding experience by adding a lifestyle quotient, he said.

He clarified they would continue to focus on the commuter segment and launch new vehicles in the volume segment next year.

He added Yamaha is looking at refining the motorcycling culture in India by bringing in advanced and visually appealing machines.

Yamaha made its foray into India in 1985 and pioneered the volume bike segment with the launch of its 100cc 2-stroke motorcycle RX-100. Since then, it has introduced an entire range of 2-stroke and 4-stroke bikes in India. Presently, its product portfolio includes Crux, Alba, G5 and Gladiator.

Source: mumbaimirror.com