Masaki Asano joins India Yamaha Motor as deputy MD

New Delhi, January 2, 2013: India Yamaha Motor (IYM) has announced Masaki Asano’s appointment as the deputy managing director of the company. Asano (pictured) will report directly to Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and managing director, IYM.

Masaki Asano is a Yamaha veteran. He joined Yamaha Motor Co (YMC) in 1981 and looked after the domestic market before joining Yamaha Motor Indonesia as GM (Marketing) in 1989. In 1997 he joined Yamaha Motor, Portugal as president. From 2001 to 2003, he was in charge of Yamaha Motor Italy in the same capacity. Six years later, he took charge of the Central and South American motorcycle market and was based in the YMC head office in Japan. Prior to his appointment with India Yamaha Motor this year, he was the president at Yamaha Motor Vietnam since 2007.

Speaking on the occasion, Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and managing director, IYM, said: “On behalf of the India Yamaha Motor management and Board of Directors, I would like to welcome Masaki Asano as the deputy managing director. His last assignment was in Vietnam as the managing director of Yamaha Vietnam and he has valuable experience in amplifying the sales volume in the market. I am confident that he will repeat the same feat here as well and further strengthen the sales and marketing team at India Yamaha Motor. His experience of over three decades in different markets globally will certainly help put together some great ideas that will work wonders for the company not just today, but even in the years to come. We, at India Yamaha Motor, gladly look forward to working with him.”

Speaking on his appointment, Masaki Asano said, “India is the most exciting and the fastest growing market in the world and hence a key market for Yamaha Motor Co. Taking over the role as the deputy managing director of IYM presents an exciting challenge and I look forward to bringing my experience to the table to ensure that we meet our targets and develop the market even further. I look forward to this exciting assignment the company has given me.” Meanwhile, IYM, has ended calendar year 2012 with an annual growth rate of 6 percent. Following its entry into the scooter market with the 113cc Ray, a varied motorcycle line-up and a range of customer-centric activities, the two-wheeler manufacturer clocked sales of 487,290 units in 2012 as compared to 460,815 in 2011. In the domestic market, sales grew 1.4 percent, with 348,406 units sold in 2012 compared to 343,466 units sold in 2011. Export sales totaled 138,884 units in 2012 compared to 117,349 units in 2011, a growth of 21 percent.

By 2016, India Yamaha Motor is targeting an overall market share of 10 percent with 15 percent share of its revenues coming from the scooter segment.