NEW DELHI - Two
Japanese companies are launching expansion
campaigns in India less than a month after the two
countries said they would step up efforts to
strengthen bilateral free trade that amounts to
little more than US$8 billion annually even as it
grows at about 20 per cent a year.
Yamaha,
which so far has not had major success in Indian
despite being the world's second-largest maker of
motorbikes, aims to boost its market share in
India with the launch of its cult
sport bikes, the 1,680 cc
engine MT01 and 998 cc YZF R1, priced at US$26,574
each ex-showroom.
Meanwhile, loss-making
in-car entertainment manufacturer Pioneer
Corporation on Monday launched car audio systems
specially customized to cater to the growing
Indian consumer market.
Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese
counterpart Yasuo Fukuda agreed on the sidelines
of an ASEAN meeting in Singapore last month to
work to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement
by mid-2008, several months earlier than
previously indicated. Amongst other goals, Japan
is seeking reductions in levies that can more than
double the price of automobiles and other vehicles
imported to India.
Yamaha, which operates
in the domestic market through a wholly owned
subsidiary Yamaha Motor India (YMI), is banking
heavily on the products to revive its fortunes in
the Indian two-wheeler market, where it has been
reduced to a marginal player with a little over 3%
market share. The MT 01 and YZF R1 are to be
brought into India as completely built units. Duty
of nearly 116 per cent on vehicles brought into
India through this route make the bikes more than
twice as expensive when compared with other
markets.
Even so, "this launch is a
trigger for re-establishing the Yamaha brand in
India," YMI chief executive and managing director
Tomotaka Ishikawa told reporters in New Delhi.
"Though we'll be present across segments, we will
carve out a niche for Yamaha products which will
be high on technology, high on design and high on
innovation."
He said the company plans to
launch a slew of products based on new technology
in the upcoming auto expo in January 2008. Yamaha
will initially sell the new sports bikes from five
retail outlets in four cities - Ahmedabad,
Chennai, New Delhi and Bangalore - which would be
increased to 50 by mid 2010. The company aims to
expand its dealership with five new dealers in
Mumbai, Chandigarh and Pune within the next six
months.
"Our aim is to first ensure that
we get proper service stations put in place before
we start selling products in any city," head of
marketing and sales P Sam said.
Pioneer,
seeking to improve its performance after turning
to a loss of 2.4 billion yen (US$21.7 million) for
the three months ended September 30, 2007, from a
3.5 billion yen profit a year earlier, will make a
range of in-car entertainment products available
in a price range of 6,500 rupees (US$164) to
15,990 rupees. The systems connect with a wide
range of external digital audio devices, including
MP3 players and iPods.
"India is an
extremely important and a strategic market for
Pioneer, having domestic market of more than one
million new cars. Exclusive product lines launched
on Monday will help us extend our leadership
position in the Indian in-car entertainment
market," Pioneer managing director Akira Haeno
told reporters here.
He said the company
was targeting to sell about 200,000 units of the
new products by the end of next year. Pioneer ``is
targeting both the original manufacturers and
consumers markets to garner a prominent position
in the in-car entertainment segment," he said.
The new products will be distributed by
Autocop India. The entire range of Pioneer in-car
entertainment products including audio units,
amplifiers and speakers will be sold through the
retail network of over 3,000 dealers and serviced
by 67 contact points.
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