Motofumi Shitara is the Chairman and Managing Director of Yamaha Motor India Group of Companies. He was recently in Nepal to assess the operation of Yamaha Motors and suggest the Nepal office on how ways to improve the business. Shitara spoke to Onlinekhabar on Yamaha’s Asian market and how he plans to make Yamaha the number one two-wheeler brand in Nepal. Experts:
What is Yamaha’s position in the global market?
Yamaha is doing quite well globally. We have around 30 per cent market share globally. Our sport bikes are quite popular throughout the world and this has put us in a good position. However, in the subcontinent, it isn’t as strong. That is why our focus now is to improve our market share in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We see a lot of opportunities here and are planning to bring different bikes and scooters so that we can compete with other brands that are already here.
How do you plan to improve your market share in Nepal?
Here in Nepal, we want to focus on the sport model. If you see the kind of models we have introduced in Nepal (such as FZ v3, FZ with a double disk model, R15 V3 and XTZ ) they all have been a success in Nepal. All these bikes are sporty, stylish and perform well. And we feel that in a short period of time we will be number one when it comes to premium bikes in Nepal. We aspire to be number one by next year.
What similarities do you find in the Asian market?
It’s almost similar. But there are small differences when it comes to each country. The difference is in the numbers. Nepal will have smaller numbers compared to India and Bangladesh, but I feel the growth is the same.
What has the response been for the new MT15?
The bike will probably be launched next month, and as now I’ve heard that it is getting some good reaction here in Nepal and in other places as well. The look has been appreciated by many along with its new features like variable valve actuation (VVA) and anti-breaking system (ABS). It will probably be released in the next two months in Nepal.
Nepali bikers have long been fond of Japanese bikes. Is your R&D directed towards this?
Research and Development is different for each country where we sell our bikes in. When it comes to R&D, we look at both safety and performances. I don’t think we give much attention to Japanese style. First of all, we want our bikes to be safe, and we are concerned more about quality control than we about the style. We are now focused on using more technology on the bikes because we know in the future our riders will want to connect their mobile phones on their bikes.
Strategies to become the number one brand in Nepal?
We want to focus on branding. It is quite important. I don’t think customers buy bikes because of the make. They buy bikes which are branded well. Our other plan is to sell good performance bikes which is important. We also want to offer Yamaha uniqueness to our customers. We believe that is what makes us different from other competitors and that is how we have done well in the market and intend to well in the future.
Any plans on having an assembling plant in Nepal?
Currently, the demand isn’t as huge. Don’t think we need to open one now, but opening an assembling plant is on the back of our mind. But we need to have favourable policies if we want to open a plant. I can’t say that we will open one but we are looking at possibilities.
Do you intend to sell electric bikes and scooters in Nepal?
We haven’t thought about that really. We need to assess the market first. We know that the scooter market in Nepal is huge but currently we are aware that electric vehicles haven’t really taken off in Nepal yet. We might launch a few EVs maybe in a few years’ time.
Which is your favorite market in South Asia?
It is quite difficult to define the best market. In most European countries biking is a hobby. But here in South Asia, people see it as a necessity. Here in Asia, the weather is favourable which is why I think the best market is South Asia.
