Photo: R. V. Moorthy

FOCUSSING ON NICHE PRODUCTS: Tomotaka Ishikawa, Managing Director and CEO, Yamaha Motor India, with the newly launched 125cc motorbike, Gladiator, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Rolling out new offerings in two versions of the new 125 cc model, Gladiator, Japanese two-wheeler major, Yamaha Motors, on Wednesday signalled a clear shift from being a competitor in the mass market motorcycle segment by announcing that it would be focussing on niche products for future growth and double its market share in the next two years. The company is seriously considering setting up a new plant in South India by 2010 to serve a larger market even as the current capacity is enough to meet the growing demand.

"Since February this year, we have been going on a path which involves a complete change in business and marketing strategies from what we have been doing earlier," Yamaha Motors India CEO and Managing Director, Tomotaka Ishikawa, said at a media meet, adding that in future focused efforts would be on brand building and enhancing its equity through new products which would be a youth-centric approach.

Even as the company is keen on doubling its market share from its current level of five per cent in the next two years, Mr. Ishikawa said, "Our target is to sell about one million bikes by 2010 for which we will need a new production unit. Considering its distribution network, the company will prefer to have its plant somewhere in South India." On the shift away from the entry-level 100 cc segment, he said, "we see our future in the upper categories of 125 cc and above, which has been growing fast in India."

Asked if that would mean phasing out of its current entry-level model `Crux R', he said the company would continue to supply as long as there was demand from dealers. However, a new model in that category was questionable, he added.

The two versions of the 125 cc Gladiator launched on Wednesday have been priced at Rs. 41,990 and Rs. 44,990 (ex-showroom Delhi). The company expected to sell about four lakh units this year — three lakh units in the domestic market and one lakh units abroad. "The scooter segment is tough in India. Customers are complex, so we would like to study further," he responded to a query about a foray into the scooter segment.

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