Yamaha Alpha scooter set to clock 14,000 sales in two months

Yamaha Motor India’s new 113 Alpha scooter is likely to touch the 14,000 units sales mark since its launch at the Auto Expo in early February.

Speaking to Autocar Professional in Bangalore, Roy Kurian, vice-president, Yamaha Motor India Sales, said: “We are hopeful of recording 14,000 units of Alpha sales by this month (March) across the country. Bangalore, which is among the biggest two-wheeler markets in India, holds a pre-eminent position for us.”

Bangalore city plays a key role in boosting the sales figures of Alpha pan India.

The Alpha has till now seen over 3,500 Alpha bookings from Bangalore. The garden city accounts for sales of 34,000 units per month with an equal split between motorcycles and scooters. According to Kurian, of the total 120 dealerships in South India, about 25 are located in Karnataka. The overall two-wheeler market in Karnataka is around 90,000 vehicles a month, comprising 60,000 bikes and 30,000 scooters. Yamaha says it has an 11 percent share in the South India two-wheeler market with 6 percent in motorcycles and 8 percent in scooters. It is aiming to grow this to 15 percent in the next six months, while also driving up its scooter market share to 12 percent.

Kurian said Yamaha hopes to sell 20,000 Alphas every month in the domestic market in the near future, with 50 percent of those sales to come from South India.

At present, the company has 400 dealerships across the country. As part of its strategy to focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, he said the company will add another 50 dealerships by end-2014.

Yamaha entered the Indian scooter market in 2012, with the Ray targeted at young women. It was followed by the Ray Z, aimed at male riders. Both scooters have sold around 150,000 units by end-2013. The Alpha is the third product in the scooter line-up.

India Yamaha Motor has in the fiscal year till now (April-February 2014) sold 438,440 units, a year-on-year growth of 34.05 percent. In February 2014, it sold 42,489, a YoY growth of 32.38 percent.

Photograph: Roy Kurian, vice-president, Yamaha Motor India Sales, with the Alpha scooter.