Yamaha Fazer 25 launched at Rs 1.28 lakh

Japanese two-wheeler maker Yamaha today launched its 250-cc motorcycle, Fazer 25, priced at Rs 1.28 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) in India, which will hit the road next month.

India Yamaha Motor aims to achieve 15 percent sales growth in this fiscal besides expanding dealership network to 700 outlets, a senior company executive said after the launch.

The 249 cc, four-stroke and single-cylinder Fazer 25 is the second bike from the company this year, after the roll-out of FZ 25 in January.

The new offering from the Indian subsidiary of the Yamaha Motor Company of Japan is essentially a fully-faired version of the FZ 25 and is positioned as the new mid-class tourer.

"With its improved looks and other suitable changes, the new Fazer 25 will keep up with the expectations of the FZ breed of riders,"  Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd, managing director Masaki Asano said at the launch.

India Yamaha Motor, which sold 7.50 lakh two-wheeler units last year, is looking to sell around nine lakh units of scooters and motorcycles this year, Roy Kurian, senior vice-president of Sales & Marketing said.

"We will be growing around 15 percent this year. We sold 7.5 lakh units of two-wheeler last year and this year, we are looking at nine lakh units," Kurian said.

He said the first half of the year was very "tight" for most of the manufacturers, but the second quarter is expected to bring back growth.

Kurian said the two-wheeler industry is expected to clock around 8-10 percent growth this fiscal, with the scooter sector likely to grow by 15 percent, while the motorcycle segment almost half of that, at 6-7 per cent.

He also said that Yamaha is expected to add another 100 outlets in its dealership network this year, which will take the total number of outlets to 700 pan-India.

With the new launch, the company said, it is confident that it will be able to make new inroads into the customer base, especially those who want to step up to a premium touring-friendly motorcycle.

The company is very bullish on the new launch and is very confident that it will keep up with the strong growth numbers the company has witnessed in the last few years, it said.