About 3 months after Yamaha India’s MD threatened to shut shop, there seems to be renewed efforts towards reviving the company. Economic Times reports that the company plans to position itself as a “fun bike maker” and is looking at pumping Rs 600 crore in the next two years.

There are some more points about an R1 and other models, but then the Indian public has been taken for a ride plenty of times in the recent past with random reports like this. I would take it with a pinch of salt and recommend you the same! 

Yamaha rides Rs 600-cr fun wave

In a bid to position itself as a fun bike maker, Yamaha Motor India is in the process of restructuring its India operations and polishing its image in the country. So far, India has posed to be a “tough nut to crack” for the Japanese motorcycle maker, which globally is the second largest motorcycle manufacturer.

According to industry sources, Yamaha is looking at pumping Rs 600 crore in the next two years. Yamaha Motor India MD Tomotaka Ishikawa told ET, “We are in the process of getting approval for investments for the Indian market. We will have concrete figures within a month or two.” The company might also look at another plant but that will take some time. Its current plant in Greater Noida has a capacity of 12 lakh units per annum.

“We are looking at positioning ourselves as the fun bike maker and would like to identify new segments outside the commuter segment. As per our original plan, we had lined up launches in 2007 but we scrapped that plan. We will come out with new models in 2008,” he says. The company is looking at tapping the 25-plus age group in the non-commuter segment. Currently, this segment consists of 4-5 lakh units and it is expected to double in the next five years,say industry experts. The company recently restructured its operations that included changes in top officials of finance and HR department. “In 2007, we are looking at re-structuring our sales & marketing operations and building the Yamaha brand. This essentially means educating and introducing the Indian consumer to the fun elements of biking,” says Mr Ishikawa.

Mr Ishikawa said he would like to see Yamaha grabbing a market share of 10% by 2011,which currently stands at about 3-4%. However for 2007, the company expects its sales to be flat at 230,000 units. Meanwhile,the company is looking at introducing its big bikes including the 998 cc YZF-R1. The company is also looking at introducing its high-powered scooters however motorcycles remains our priority area, added Mr Ishikawa.

To read the article at the Economic Times web site, click here .