The Japanese bike maker, Yamaha Motors has reported that they are developing a new motorcycle which will be the low-cost motorcycle and the cheapest in the world, when launched. The company is developing this new motorcycle especially for buyers in Africa and India, where demand for low-cost motorized two wheeler vehicles is increasing exponentially.
Presently in the Indian auto industry, the cheapest motorcycle is priced at Rs 36,300 (Hero MotoCorp CD Dawn). The new Yamaha motorcycle, which is yet to be named, will be launched with a price tag of less than $500, and going by current currency conversion rates, it will be priced for less than Rs 28,000. Yamaha will also make India as their base to manufacture and export this new $500 motorcycle.
Mr Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO & MD, Yamaha Motors India, said, “Our product benchmark right now (on cost) is the YBR 110 and Crux, but we would like to develop a bike in the low-cost segment for markets like Africa. The target is to make a bike that will cost $500 (INR 27,700 approx.). I think such a bike will have a lot of demand in Africa as well as in India.”
Last week, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has launched their cheapest motorcycle ever in India – Dream Yuga for a price of Rs 44,642 and also announced plans of launching even cheaper motorcycles in future. As of now, Yamaha’s cheapest motorcycle for the Indian market is Crux 110cc which is priced at Rs 38,365. Yamaha also exports this motorcycle to China.
In India, motorcycle industry is getting much competitive. Hero MotoCorp, which has held the tag of largest motorcycle manufacturer for quite some time, now faces some stiff competition from Bajaj Auto, TVS, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha. Though Hero MotoCorp numbers are far better than competition, riding on the success of Splendor and Passion, but slowly and steadily, competitors are catching up.
(Note – The image is of Yamaha RX 100 which is now discontinued from the market, the actual motorcycle may defer from the above shown model)
Also see – Hero MotoCorp aims to introduce low-cost bike soon!
Source – HindustanTimes
