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New Delhi, April 9: Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha is developing “the world’s cheapest motorcycle” which will be priced below Rs 30,000 (around $500).
The company’s new entity Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt Ltd, set up at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh in February, is working on the $500 or less motorcycle that will be first launched in India.
According to company officials, India could become the global hub for the development of low-cost bikes, which will be exported to countries in Africa and Latin America. “Our objective is to develop the lowest cost model in the world and lowest cost parts. Our target is to develop the cheapest bike at around $500 for both India and export markets,” Toshikazu Kobayashi, managing director of Yamaha Motor Research, said today.
Kobayashi refrained from putting any deadline on the launch of the motorcycle, but said that it would have an engine capacity of around 110cc. “We will first launch the bike in India. There are also other markets such as Africa and Latin America where such bike can be sold. We will export the product to such locations in the future,” he said.
“We are looking to increase our presence in the commuter segment. Developing the product in India will give us a substantial cost advantage and enable us to price it competitively,” India Yamaha Motor chief executive officer and managing director Hiroyuki Suzuki said. Yamaha has also decided to launch a scooter model each year in India till 2016.
He said the company was looking to sell 7.1 lakh motorcycles and scooters this year, including 2.1 lakh for exports. India Yamaha Motor had sold 4.9 lakh units in 2012. “Our long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018. We are aiming to sell 10 lakh units in 2015 that will include exports,” he added.
With around 80 engineers, Yamaha’s Surajpur facility is the company’s fifth such centre in the world. Yamaha also has research and development (R&D) centres in Italy, Taiwan, China and Thailand.
The company plans to set up a second R&D facility in Chennai by 2015.
