India to be Yamaha export hub

Japanese bike maker Yamaha is lining up firm measures to make India its export hub. The company plans to ship its engines and bike models to countries like the United States as well as Japan in a short while from now.

India is currently Yamaha’s second biggest exporter after China. The bike major is expected make India its export hub for the two legendary models – FZ16 and R15, said a company official. Yamaha had last year exported about 40,000 bikes and 10,000 engines to various global operations of Yamaha, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Latin American countries.

Yamaha, the Japanese two-wheeler maker is planning to make India its export hub for engines and bikes, including shipments to the US and Japan. The company is also all set to increase its dealer and after-sales service network in the country.

Meanwhile, even as the bike giant is busy trying to make India its exports hub, the company is also planning a major thrust in its marketing eefforts in the country. Yamaha India is said to be investing close to Rs 240 crore in building new dealerships in the country. It is expected that by year  2010, Yamaha India will have as many as 600 dealerships across the country.

Yamaha India is also pursuing a focused effort in the after-sales service department too in India. It will be making available spare parts even for their older bikes, like RX 100 and RD 350, as part of this thrust. It is said that the company has already initiated parleys with vendors to supply spare parts for RX100 and RD350.

This apart, the bike major has also clarified that it would not be present in the 100cc segment and that it would instead be comfortable by building customer confidence through existing models in the 150 cc and above category. Ths is despite the fact that the 100 cc segment is the largest two-wheeler segment in the country.