As per reports Yamaha Motor India chairman Eishin Chihana revealed the company’s future plans for the Indian market. The Japanese marque is considering bringing in the YZF-R7, MT-07 and MT-09 to our shores, albeit in small batches. Earlier, a promotional film also hinted the same about these motorcycles. All of this does hint at an imminent India debut. However, Yamaha has mentioned that these bikes would come in small batches. This is just how the KTM did it with the 790 Duke a few years ago.
Considering the growing popularity of mid-displacement motorcycles in India. This is an important and crucial move from Yamaha. Given the popularity of Yamaha, chances are very high that all these motorcycles will do pretty well. However, in the Indian market, there’s an equally inclined towards ADVs. Thus, this comes as a surprise to Yamaha’s decision to not introduce the Tenere 700.
All look prepared with these introductions. But one of the biggest hurdles in Yamaha’s plan for these bikes is the pricing. Given India is a price-sensitive market, pricing pretty much plays a very important role. For perspective, the 2019 MT-09 sold at a price tag of INR 10.55 lakh (ex-showroom). Then accounting for the inflation, Yamaha could price at around INR 11.50 lakh, making it fairly expensive. Similarly, the R7 could arrive somewhere around a price tag of INR 10 lakh (ex-showroom). On a similar line, the MT-07 could demand somewhere in the range of INR 7.50 lakh (all ex-showroom).
Considering these motorcycles will arrive via the Completely Built Units (CBU). The prices will stay higher than most of its competitors per se. So, unless Yamaha starts assembling these motorcycles in India, customers will have to pay premium prices to purchase these machines.
Also Read: Yamaha adds 3 Blue Square showrooms in Mumbai.