Reference Auto

Seeing a huge potential in India, Yamaha has made a foray into the country’s scooter market by rolling out the Ray for Rs 46,000, and although the price is on the higher side, the company has created a niche by targeting women for its Ray.

Considering the snazzy design as well as the brand ambassador (Deepika Padukone), it is clear that Yamaha is targeting girls in the mid 20s.

Yamaha has also introduced a rider training programme for women and put in place an assembly line for the Ray operated entirely by women.

In fact, Yamaha will keep a slew of women representatives in the showroom also to help customers get every detail about the Ray.

The Yamaha Ray is an automatic scooter propelled by a new 113 cc engine that offers 7.1 PS at 7,500 rpm and 8.1 Nm torque. The peak torque is at a low 5,000 rpm.

According to the company, the Yamaha Ray can touch a speed of 60 km/hour in just 12 seconds and offers a mileage of over 60 km to a litre.

It is only 104 kg, which is considered pretty light, but is believed to offer a good performance. However, one must be aware of bumpy roads as the two-wheeler’s weight is less.

The chassis specifications of the Yamaha are also commendable, with telescopic forks up-front, 130 mm drum brakes and 90/100-10 tyres.

The Yamaha scooter will be available in six colours, namely, pink, black, blue, burgundy, purple and grey.

The Japanese giant wants the Ray to slug it out in the fast growing new scooter segment and is bullish on grabbing at least one-fifth of the market in about four years.

Yamaha wants to sell one million two-wheelers by 2014 and hopes that the figure will double in just two more years, which is quite an ambitious target.

Yamaha has said the seat height, the design at the centre and side stands will help women get into the scooter easily and allow them to have a seamless ride.

A scooter for women could create a niche in the segment, which until recently was witnessing tardy growth. In fact, scooters had lost their sheen during the last decade and this prompted companies like Bajaj and LML to discontinue their grand old iconic scooters.

But the new scooters are revving up in the market. The scooter segment, which comprised only 11 per cent of the total two-wheeler market at approximately 9 lakh units in 2006, has spurted during the last five years and occupied 18 per cent share at 24 lakh units last year.

So, by targeting young women, Yamaha is creating a niche in the not-so-high volumes scooter segment and this may help it grab a chunk of the market, at least in the medium term.