Yamaha to launch scooter in India next year

The firm's wholly-owned subsidiary, India Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, is investing Rs 10 crore to set up the body assembly line at the plant. "The scooter market in India is huge and we want to have a strong presence. Now we are preparing to launch a scooter here within 2012," said India Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd CEO and Managing Director Hiroyuki Suzuki.

The scooters will be focused more on personal commuting, with stylish and smart design like Yamaha’s motorcycles. He also said Yamaha’s scooters would be positioned differently from those of Honda, which are more family oriented.

The Indian scooter market grew 50.54 per cent in 2010 and stood at 19.6 lakh units. It is dominated by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, although other players like TVS Motor Co and Hero Honda have also witnessed good sales.

On the preparations for the launch of the scooter, Suzuki said, "We will need a separate assembly line for it, especially for the body parts. We will invest about Rs 10 crore on setting it up."

Yamaha had also said it might consider launching an electric bike in the fast growing Indian two-wheeler market to offer an alternative mode of transportation.