Scooters have taken Yamaha to new levels of success in India over the past few years and Yamaha is keen to keep the momentum going with the opening of its first scooter boutique. Spanning 3,100 sq.ft., the Yamaha Scooter Boutique in Chennai offers sales and service facilities as well as a display of the full range of scooters Yamaha currently offers in India. The idea is to give prospective scooter customers a dedicated experience of Yamaha’s scooter offerings with the added benefits of sales and service support. Yamaha plans to open around 20 such boutiques in metros and semi-urban areas, but has not clarified a clear timeframe for the same.
Yamaha’s current line-up of scooters in India includes the Ray-Z, Ray-ZR, Alpha and Fascino. Each of these scooters features the same 113cc motor that makes 7.2hp and 8.1Nm. However, recent spy images show Yamaha is testing the Grande Nozza scooter for India. If launched, it will be the company’s first 125cc offering in the Indian market.
In a step to garner more interest, and perhaps also to gauge response, Yamaha is displaying premium maxi-scooters from its international range, like the X-Max 300. This large scooter packs a high-tech and potent 27PS engine, traction control, LED lighting and a smart key. Even if it is locally assembled, such a scooter could cost over the price of some motorcycles in the 300-400cc category, and would be more expensive still if brought in as an import. At this point, a launch is unlikely.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
