Yamaha plans to quintuple dealerships

India Yamaha Motor, the local unit of Japan-based Yamaha Motor Company (YMC), has announced a massive dealer network expansion as it gears up to debut in the scooter category this year.

The company currently has 400 dealers and plans to take this number to 2,000 by 2018, with a focus on Tier 2 and 3 cities, the company said in a statement. The expansion is in line with its product plans in the next few years, which includes launch of a gearless scooter ‘Ray’ later this year. The motorcycle has been developed by Yamaha only for the Indian market.

Yamaha India, known for its sportier bikes, is also looking at increasing presence in the mass volume motorcycles, where it is planning to launch several products by 2016.

The company sold 1.8 lakh vehicles this year till July, a 10% growth over last year. It aims to sell 1 million units by 2014.

“We managed a 10% growth without any new products, while growth in the two-wheeler industry is in single digits. We are positive of reaching 1 million mark by 2014,” said Roy Kurian, head – domestic sales, Yamaha India.

The company is banking on the scooter segment, which has been growing faster than motorcycles. The scooter segment is expected to grow at 20% this year. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheelers grew 9.75% during April-July.

“South and West regions of India are the best markets for scooters. In the western region especially, we are looking at additional 40-50 dealers,” said Kurian.

Yamaha announced its third manufacturing in Chennai, where it will invest Rs1,500 over the next five years. It is also investing Rs750 crore on existing facilities in Noida and Faridabad for capacity expansion, product development and network expansion.

It is also setting up a research and development centre in India which will work on developing the future low-cost products. The company expects the Indian R&D centre to be independent for developing India-specific products. 

To expand in the sportier bike segment, the company is studying a possibility of a bike above 250 cc category. However, the launch schedule of the bike is not known yet. Yamaha currently has a market share of 15-16% in the 150cc and above bikes. 

Exports will be also be one of the key focuses for Yamaha post the opening of Chennai factory due to its proximity to ports.