When you think of brand Yamaha in India, one bike that quickly comes to mind is the RX 100, a legend during the late 1980s and early 90s. It achieved cult status in a short span of time but was phased out thanks to the stringent emission norms prevailing at that point in time.

This was the era that saw the dominance of 2-stroke powerhouses such as the Suzuki Shogun, KB 100 and RX 100.

Back to the 80s Fast-forward to the present performance/premium commuter market and the stage is set for an encore of the heady 80s. This segment has been largely created and dominated by Bajaj and its Pulsar brand over the last 13 years.

Likewise, market leaders in other categories, be it Hero Splendor in the commuter segment or Honda Activa in scooters, have consistently retained over 50 per cent share in their respective fields. In the leisure cruiser segment (below 600cc), Royal Enfield remains the undisputed monarch with a share of around 90 per cent during this period.

In premium segment bikes (135cc to 535cc but excluding cruisers), the Bajaj Pulsar range of bikes has maintained market share at around 36 per cent over the last five quarters.

However, we feel that this leadership status could face a challenge from a new breed of bikes with authentic power, exclusive style, responsive acceleration and a sporty stature. Riders here are willing to experiment with new offerings from equally reputed brands

Game changer The game is fast changing and Yamaha has a front row seat to (what could be an opportunity) become the key player in the premium bike category. The brand has a well thought out product line with its FZ and SZ series along with its dashing, track-focused R15.

While it is doubtless up against stiff competition from the Pulsar series, Suzuki Gixxer, TVS Apache and Honda Unicorn, Yamaha has the right mix of racing pedigree and successful proven models in the Indian premium bike segment to take on the lead brand. It is clearly taking a cue from one of the global motorcycle giants which famously proclaimed, ‘Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday’.

The relatively new ‘Ready to Race’ brand, KTM is progressing steadily with a growth of over 60 per cent in Q3 over last year. Numbers over the past give quarters (Q3 ’13-14 to Q3 ’14-15) only reiterate our claim that there is a lot of action brewing in the premium/performance space.

While the category has grown by 14 per cent in this period, the top three brands have recorded strong sales numbers. Bajaj has set the pace with a growth of 50 per cent for the Pulsar and the newly launched Discover 150. Yamaha recorded an increase of 25 per cent and is in third place while TVS Apache saw sales up 42 per cent.

Bajaj boasts of a market share of around 48 per cent in this segment followed by Yamaha at around 19 per cent and TVS at 13 per cent. The products that topped the charts for the period are displayed in the table.

Rise and fall Interestingly, the two brands that have significantly dropped in the premium segment are Hero and Honda by 65 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Hero’s Xtreme and Karizma and Honda’s Unicorn, Trigger and CBR 250 have all shown a dip in volumes during this period.

Yamaha has a well outlined strategy and this is starting to reflect in its sales numbers over the past five quarters. We have tracked the digital mind share of brand Yamaha which, during this period, has managed to consistently maintain 26-29 per cent. This has been made possible thanks to a five per cent growth in the mind share of the FZ series of bikes.

Yamaha will have to make the choice of moving away from its current badge of being a brand with great potential to one that actually unlocks what lies ahead. The company’s new products need to record numbers that will help it move ahead of the pack.

Having said this, the premium bike segment is not an easy playground as consumer preferences are fast evolving with each passing day as they are exposed to a slew of international brands and their high performance machines.

It will be a contest that will be keenly followed by industry as Yamaha decides its fate and degree of success in the Indian premium bike segment where the mantra, ‘More for less’ will always dictate the market.

This segment has around 11 per cent market share of the total bikes sold in India. It clocks around 1.4 lakh units each month with a growth of 14 per cent y-o-y. It will be interesting to see if the ‘Fastest Indian’ will continue to lead or if the ‘Yes, Yamahas’ will make more inroads. This will include other contenders who are ‘Ready to Race’ and willing to unleash their ‘Racing DNA’.

RL Ravichandran is Chairman and Rohit Kuttappa is MD of Mind in Motion

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