Yamaha to launch a 250cc motorcycle in 2014

After years of rabid speculation, India Yamaha Motor have finally confirmed that they’re planning to launch a 250cc motorcycle in the Indian market in 2014.

In an interview with Financial Chronicle, Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO, India Yamaha Motor said, “We will focus on the scooters category for next two years, but in 2014 we will launch powerful sporty 250cc bike in the Indian market. There is a good market for this premium segment which we would like to tap.”

India has become an important market for Yamaha with the company also now focusing attention to the scooter segment. Yamaha will not introduce any new motorcycles for the next two years, but will keep updating their existing models. The Japanese marquee will also launch a scooter series for different target segments in the country. Mr. Suzuki also added,“The motorcycles manufactured in India meet the advanced specification of developed markets and they are produced at a lower cost. The price is almost double in Japanese market. We are sending R15 to Japan to test market, and if the response is good, we may explore more products for export to Japan and other advanced markets.”

At present the 250cc category has seen a duopoly of the Honda CBR 250R and the Kawasaki Ninja 250 in the Indian market. But with the growing importance of performance biking in the country, players like Hero MotoCorp – ERB tie-up, Bajaj and TVS-BMW technical partnership, manufacturers are taking a long hard look at the 250s in the country, and the future surely sees a lot many new players in this exciting segment.