| Yamaha India sold around 2.58 lakh motorcycles in 2004-05 and reported a fall in market share to around 5 per cent from 6 per cent in 2003-04. |
| The company has, however, vowed to regain its market share by launching new models and also enter the scooter market by 2007. |
| "We will continue to stay away from the price game and will not push our products as just great mileage bikes, though we offer products that match with competition on the mileage factor," said A V Srinivasan, director marketing. |
| Projecting the growth in demand for motorcycles in five years, Yamaha India officials said the market will continue to grow at 15 per cent year-on-year taking the total demand to a number close to 9 million vehicles against 5 million now. |
| Yamaha for its part proposes to cross the four lakh units capacity barrier in the next year-and-a-half. The first tranche of capacity expansion, if projected sales for the company move in expected lines, would be take place in 2006. |
| Srinivasan said sales in calendar 2006 will cross 3 lakh units. The company also proposes to invest around Rs 150 crore in balancing its capacity by adding new machines in the current assembly line. |
| "We expect to break even during 2006 and report profits by 2007," he said. Yamaha will continue to push new models in the 125cc plus segment which is expected to constitute 50 per cent of the total market by 2010. The market for 100-cc bikes dominates the two wheeler market in India today. |
| Focus on stylised products, packed with power and also good mileage would be Yamaha's formula for regaining its glory, said Yamaha India executives. |
| Yamaha India has also signed up model-turned-actor John Abraham as its brand ambassador. Srinivasan said media spend in the current calendar will be Rs 35 crore (which is lower than the previous year's), but expects to create greater impact by more focused splashes. |
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