The Hindu Business Line : Yamaha drafts aggressive script for India

Mumbai, Jan. 10 Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha, which is attempting to set its India house in order, has drafted an aggressive strategy that will ensure customers will have no more reason to complain.

“We will try our best to get back the trust. We have introduced Yamaha global standards in our operations and will be more sincere to customers,” said Mr Yukimine Tsuji, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, India Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd.

As part of this renewed approach, Yamaha plans a complete overhaul of its after-sales service, parts supply and retail infrastructure. The company never had an issue with its products, but lost out on sales and service. On the product front, too, it had goofed by focusing on the mass segment, which never has been Yamaha’s forte.

Resurgence plan

“We are increasing the number of spare parts supply shops from 70 to 95, while simultaneously improving service capabilities at dealerships. We will add 150 service centres to the existing 57. It is now mandatory for new dealers to have a service shop attached, which meets our quality standards,” added Mr Koji Arai, Director and Chief Sales Officer. Nearly 500 dealers will be part of the Yamaha family by the end of 2009 .

The Japanese bike maker has targeted production of three lakh motorcycles this calendar, which is a 50 per cent jump from 2008 and translates into 70 per cent utilisation of plant capacity. The focus will be on 150cc plus bikes, which is part of its mission plan called ‘Resurgence of Yamaha in India’.

Of this, 30,000 units will be exported and this number has been scaled down thanks to the global slowdown. The company will also cut down on imports of high performance bikes. “We sold 100 units last year but have projected a lower number this time around,” Mr Arai said.

Company plants

Yamaha also launched its financing arm, Bussan Auto Finance, last July. It is present in 124 cities and operates at 180 dealerships. Cash purchases account for nearly 80 per cent of bike sales.

The company’s Faridabad plant makes engine components, transmission gears and shafts, while the Surajpur facility caters to manufacture of body parts, chassis, gasoline tanks, painting and bike assembly. “We will soon have a new assembling unit here and the existing one will take over the painting function,” Mr Tsuji said. After 2010, vendors will be asked to move within Surajpur when operations scale up.

He denied reports of an entry into the gearless scooter segment. “We have different scooters on our global portfolio which could be used in India but all options are still being explored. Our focus is motorcycles first and only after we create a base here will consider scooters,” he said.

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