Yamaha to shore up premium image

Pune: Yamaha, the Japanese motorcycle giant, is changing its image from a commuter brand to a premium bike brand to expand market share in India.

Yamaha offers three motorcycle series under its "The Call of the Blue" campaign – the R Series, the FZ Series and the new MT Series of performance bikes.

With more disposable income, the bike market in India, the world's biggest motorcycle market with over 16 competing brands, is shifting towards the premium bikes and wooing the successful youngsters.

After creating two verticals in the Racing Series with the Rs 1.25 lakh Yamaha ZF-R15 (155cc) which changed the 150cc engine segment, and the Yamaha FZ R15 Version 3.0 bike (155cc) priced Rs 1.39 lakh, the company has now introduced the third vertical with the launch of the MT-15 motorcycle. Last weekend, the brand launched its new 155cc bike Yamaha MT-15 priced at Rs 1.36 lakh at Delhi showroom.