Yamaha Motorcycles at Auto Expo 2010

The special edition Yamaha R15 had no changes in spec, which was a disappointment

Finally all the speculations have come to an end regarding the new launches from Yamaha at the auto-expo 2010. It was great anticipation among the Indian bikers who are Yamaha fans that a 250cc bike is definitely up on the cards but it was not there. May be a 250cc is still in the pipeline but not soon enough.

Yamaha launched two if its model at the auto expo, the 2010 YZF-R1 and the special edition 2010 R15. Yamaha’s brand ambassador John Abraham was present for the launch of 2010 YZF-R1 who was also given a certificate of being the “Advisor to India Yamaha Motor” in order to support the company in achieving their goals.

The other launch which happened at the event was the 2010 special edition R15. This special edition R15 has a white-red paint scheme. The other significant change in the bike is the exhaust which now sports a metallic silver look instead of the traditional black finish exhaust. All the other specs apart from the paint job remain the same for R15. This special edition R15 should be available from February this year.

Addressing the media, Mr. Yukimine Tsuji, CEO, India Yamaha Motors said that the company has a sales target of 3 lakhs in 2010. The focus will be continued on the 150cc+ segment to achieve a 25% share target in 2010. The company will also have the commuter segment as a focus area. The company will be working hard to make Yamaha the exclusive trusted motorcycle brand in India.

The company is also targeting at making all of its dealers as Yamaha Bike Station by the year 2012, as of now there are around 100 Yamaha Bike Station across the country. Yamaha is also stressing on safe riding and will be organizing such events to educate the riders on safety.

Apart from the models from the Indian market, international models like FZ1, Fazer (1000cc) YZR-M1( Rossi edition), 500cc TMAX sports scooter and 600cc XJ6 motorcycle were also on display. Yamaha also displayed some interesting concept models from the commuter section which might be called Yamaha SZ and Yamaha YBR. Although not many details were disclosed about these concept models but I have a feeling that these might be the next models Yamaha is planning to launch in the commuter section to strengthen their grip in the market.

Personally, I expected a lot more from Yamaha at the auto-expo. My expectation was that they would repeat what they did in the 2008 auto-expo when they surprised everyone with their YZF-R15 and FZ-16. To conclude, the special edition R15 which had nothing special about it except for the paint scheme and the 2010 YZF-R1 is beyond the reach of majority of the Indian customers. In the end I’m still waiting to see a 200 or 250cc motorcycle from Yamaha for the Indian bike enthusiasts!