Yamaha Motor India to expand capacity

Two-wheeler manufacturer Yamaha Motor India will double production capacity to eight lakh (800,000) units in two years, said CEO and Managing Director Tsutomu Mabuchi. The company is setting up additional facilities at its manufacturing plant in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh. Yamaha Motor Indias total production capacity at its Surajpur and Faridabad plants is four lakh (400,000) units. The company utilizes 60-70% of its capacity. Yamaha sold 1.18 lakh (118,000) units in 2007 and has already reached sales of one lakh (100,000) units in 2008. We hope the festival season will give a further push to our sales. We are targeting two lakh (200,000) unit sales by the end of this year, said Pankaj Dubey, national business head, sales & marketing, Yamaha Motor India. The company, which has a market share of 2.6%, has laid out plans for gaining a market share of 10% by 2010. Customers look for performance bikes with high-end technology from Yamaha. We are focusing on that segment and we will eventually expand our presence in mass market segments too, said Dubey. (September 9, 2008)