India Yamaha Motor launches new Ray-ZR Street Rally

In an attempt to boost its flagging scooter sales, India Yamaha Motor (IYM) has rolled out a new variant of its popular scooter model, the Ray-ZR.

Targeted at young male riders, primarily collegians, the new variant, christened Ray-ZR Street Rally, comes with an ex-showroom (Delhi) price-tag of Rs 57,898 – about Rs 4,500 more than the most affordable variant (Ray-ZR drum brake) in the Ray-ZR line up.

The new variant, which will be available across all authorised company dealerships from the last week of July, mainly offers cosmetic changes such as redesigned exterior graphics lending it a sportier image. The company says that the newly designed front fairing adds up more muscle to the Ray-ZR’s appearance besides working as the wind deflectors. “The wing style front fairing is inspired by the Yamaha MT-09,” quotes the company release.

According to India Yamaha Motor, the new Ray-ZR Street Rally variant comes with a fully digital console, which is welcome. The new automatic Street Rally edition, which will be available in two colour combinations – rally red and racing blue – continues to be powered by the four-stroke, air-cooled, single-cylinder, 7.1bhp, 113cc blue core engine that powers the company’s entire scooter portfolio currently. The engine features roller rocker arm, which, according to the company, contributes in reducing the loss of horsepower and offering improved fuel efficiency.

Being the top variant in the Ray-ZR series, the Street Rally edition gets the 170mm disc brake in the front, thus providing a decent stopping power. The make the scooter practical, the company offers large underseat storage with 21 litres capacity and a front pocket good to fit a 500ml water bottle and more.

Commenting on the rollout of the new variant, Roy Kurian, senior vice-president, Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales said, “Yamaha’s Cygnus Ray-ZR Street Rally Edition perfectly combines power and style that makes it an aspirational buy. Continuing with Yamaha’s legacy to provide technologically advanced, sporty and stylish products, the Street Rally (variant) will bring excitement to the scooter customers who look for sporty scooters with easy maneuvering along with smooth power delivery. The globally known unique style of Yamaha that outlines any product innovation including the Street Rally edition will help the brand to keep up its incremental ascent in the Indian two-wheeler market.”

India Yamaha's scooter strategy

Yamaha’s scooter portfolio has three different models for the domestic market. It includes the bestselling Fascino, followed by the Ray-Z and Ray-ZR variants and the Alpha. While the Fascino and the Ray-Z line-up target urban commuters, the Alpha is positioned for family buyers.

According to SIAM data, Yamaha sold 415,321 scooters in India during FY2018, marginally down by 5.69 percent YoY. Slowing sales of the Fascino and Ray-Z / ZR models during the last fiscal led to the similar performance of the company on the scooter front. Both continue to be among the top 10 best-selling scooters in the domestic market month-on-month.

Furthermore, the company’s market share in the surging scooter segment fell from 7.86 percent in FY2017 to 6.18 percent in FY2018. This can be directly attributed to the rising competition from Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), TVS Motor Company and Suzuki Motorcycle India.

Nevertheless, on scooter export front, Yamaha exported 43,025 units, up 45.53 percent YoY, in FY2018. The Ray-Z / ZR portfolio is, interestingly, the largest exported scooter for Yamaha from India.