India Yamaha Motor Limited, known for its strong focus on the urban market in the country, has decided to go for a strategic shift in its business move.
The two-wheeler player which is only a fringe player in the country's rural market, which accounts for only 15 per cent of its overall sales, intends to tap this market in a big way.
YBR 110, the latest bike from the Yamaha stable to have been launched in India, will target the rural markets. As of now, Yamaha Crux is the company's best seller in the rural market due to its good quality, long life engine and high mileage.
“Rural markets are the growth drivers for any company and we are no different. Yamaha has already penetrated into the entry level segment and has been successful in all its ventures. To tap this potential segment, we are focusing on increasing our network strength in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and increasing our sub-dealers in rural areas”, said Pankaj Dubey, national business head, India Yamaha Motor Limited told Business Standard."Yamaha Crux is doing very well in the domestic and overseas market. Adding to this is our new launch YBR 110 which will definitely target the rural markets, add to our sales numbers and increase our presence in the rural areas. We expect to grow more and improve our performance in rural India”, Dubey said.
Yamaha is wary of competition from the well entrenched players but hopes to counter the competition through its unique product offering.
"We don’t see any direct competition between Yamaha’s offerings and other companies. The Indian biking market is undergoing a complete transformation in terms of both product offering and customer preferences. Today, the Indian biker is driven by technology and style and Yamaha products perfectly fit the bill”, says Dubey.
Though Yamaha has a 12 per cent market share in the deluxe bike segment, it is still a marginal player in the country's two-wheeler market with a meagre share of 3.5 per cent.
The company is targeting a share of 10 per cent by the end of 2012.
Apart from growing in the domestic market, Yamaha is also looking to scale up its exports.
"We are very hopeful of increasing exports from India. In 2009 and so far in 2010, we have received good response and orders from the overseas markets. We export Gladiator Type SS, FZ16, YZF-R15, Crux, Enticer, Alba, G5 to countries like Colombia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Bangladesh, Philippines. We definitely look forward to increase our presence in the overseas market and grow in terms of exports”. Dubey claimed.
