Yamaha hopes sales in North East to grow 5%-8% in 2021

Amidst slump in auto sales due to Covid-19 pandemic, Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha is expecting its Indian subsidiary to clock 5-8 per cent growth in North East in next year, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The Japanese company's wholly-owned subsidiary Yamaha Motor India Sales, which earlier said this year's sales in the Indian market will be the lowest in a decade due to Covid-19 pandemic, is hoping that the North East market will continue to grow despite challenges.

"Yamaha continues to remain a top choice of the two- wheeler customers in the NE market. The market is expected to grow between 5-8 per cent by the next year," Yamaha Motor India Sales (YMIS) Senior Vice President Ravinder Singh told PTI in an interview.

The North East market consists of young customers, who mostly prefer performance bikes for improved power and torque with better controls that are also some of the essential requirements in the rocky terrains found in the region, he added.

"Thus, NE market holds a huge potential even during the present time and Yamaha, along with catering to this young customer base, will continue to establish a strong brand presence with its 125cc scooter models and 150cc motorcycle models," Singh said with optimism.

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The YMIS will continue to strengthen its market presence in the North Eastern states that contributes around 5-8 per cent of the company's annual domestic sales, which stood at 6.2 lakh units in 2019.

The seven states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura - registered a total sale of 53,780 units between January to December last year, of which 30,000 units were sold in Assam alone.

When asked about the company's plans to bring customers back into purchasing mode amidst this pandemic, Singh said: "Yamaha might revisit its advertising strategy. For the auto category, the second half of the year is an important business period with many tactical campaigns."

Yamaha will continue advertising with different media mix and strategy while addressing key challenges and objectives with more focus on digital platforms, he added.

The senior YMIS official said that for the current year, the digital platforms of the brand will strongly focus on building the company's new campaign 'The Call of the Blue', which will promote the global experience of Yamaha.

The company plans to launch 15 'Blue Square' showrooms across the country in 2020 focussing on sport and style of the Yamaha models, he added.

"In the North East region, we will be launching at least seven 'Blue Square' by next year," Singh said, adding the company currently has a total strength of more than 100 dealers in the region.

On September 20, the company had said that it estimated sales in Indian market during 2020 to be the lowest in a decade because of a drastic fall in consumer's buying sentiment due to Covid-19 pandemic.

YMIS, which has witnessed a fall of over 36 per cent in its domestic sales in January-August this year, had opined that the pandemic is likely to change the practice of shared transportation as people will prioritise social distancing and personal hygiene.