No Yamaha 250 in the near future?

With the economic slowdown knocking down big names, Yamaha has delayed its plans to set up a new plant near Chennai. A weak Rupee and overall gloomy auto sales are to be blamed for this setback. Even though dealers are doling out big discounts to clear the stocks, along with banks reducing loan rates, the sales are just not picking pace.

There were plans to push in 1500 crores for the setting up of the new plant by the beginning of 2014, but now it looks tugged forward a year. Yamaha has two plants in India, both in the NCR regions of Greater Noida and Faridabad.

However, the worst news for bikers is the obvious delay in seeing a 250cc Yamaha anywhere in the near future. It breaks our heart to hear it, but the manufacturer of bikes like R15, R6 and R1 wants to focus on the “volume segment” of commuter bikes and scooters. Yamaha is already late to the game, with Honda, KTM and Kawasaki making merry in the 250+ cc department. Now is the time to introduce a quarter liter bike. Who knows what the future auto market will look like?

Image source: indiamarketprice.in