We earlier mentioned in our article of upcoming motorcycle launches in 2012that Yamaha may launch its 250cc motorcycle in India. According to news reported by Business Standard, the company is now planning to manufacture its 250cc motorcycle in India which is schedule to launch in this year. The management decided to produce the motorcycle locally, as the assembling will attract 30% import duty. Earlier Yamaha wanted to launch 250cc motorcycle last year. However, the management decided to see the response of Honda CBR250R before launching its 250cc motorcycle.
Roy Kurian, national business head, India Yamaha Motor, said, “The market for 250cc is growing and we are studying that. There are a couple of models in that segment and people are upgrading to 250cc bikes. We will do 100 per cent localisation of that bike, we will manufacture it here. We have taken the feedback from people who have bought 200-250cc bikes and our feedback says they are not fully ‘satisfied’ with their products. So there is a need for a better bike than what is available today. Internationally, we have the Fazer 250, but I cannot comment when we will launch a bike in that segment.”
He added that this year Yamaha has decided to focus on scooters, which is scheduled for launch in the second half. It is confident of achieving sales of 400,000 units (including exports) in the next year. This would constitute 40 per cent of total targeted sales of one million by 2013. He also added “While we are focusing on scooters this year, it does not mean we are moving away from bikes. The bikes will remain as our main stay in the longer term.”
Fazer 250cc has 249cc, four stroke single cylinder, 2 valve OHC oil cooled engine which produces 21 bhp power and 20.7 Nm torque. Fazer 250 has very basic engine and seems to be developed on SZ platform. If Yamaha will develop this motorcycle locally, it will surely give tough fight to other motorcycles as SZ series is known for its competitive price and performance.
Currently, the 250cc market is dominated by Honda CBR250R which sells around 2,500-3,000 units a month. The other 250cc motorcycle is Kawasaki Ninja 250R which sells around 100 units a month due to its on road price of more than Rs. 3 lakhs. Garware Motors is also planning to launch Hyosung GT250R by the month of May 2012. The way 250cc motorcycle market is expanding in India, we will see more launches from most of the manufacture in upcoming days.
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