Yamaha sharpens India focus for mobility services

The Japanese two-wheeler maker refers to initiatives planned for India and Nigeria in its recently unveiled midterm plan, says Murali Gopalan.

- Murali Gopalan

India finds an interesting mention in Yamaha Motor Co's medium-term management plan (2022-24) presented in Japan on February 10.

"In the area of mobility services, we will establish new companies in India and Nigeria and expand our asset management business through collaborations with local partners."

The significance of this statement is still not clear though a press release issued more recently refers to Moto Business Service India (MBSI), a mobility solutions company, whose stakeholders include Japan's Yamaha Motor Co and Yamaha Motor Biz Partner Co.

MBSI has invested in RoyalBrothers, a leading bike rental company, where it will procure new two-wheelers and deploy them on a revenue sharing basis model. MBSI will also work with companies keen on deploying electric two and three-wheelers.

Whether these two news announcements are linked is a moot point but the fact remains that Yamaha is more than keen to grow its presence in India through a host of business models which go beyond ownership options alone. The delivery business is only a natural entry point because this is where all the action is taking place especially with a host of startups keen on making their mark.

Not everyone can afford to buy a two-wheeler and would rather rent them instead. This is where MBSI'S mission to "increase the usage of vehicles on shared/ rental platforms" becomes relevant.

Improving profitability

Getting back to its midterm plan, Yamaha has said that its main task is to improve profitability by continuing with the premium segment strategy in markets where demand is recovering. While total demand in Asia has still not fully returned to where it was in 2019 before the pandemic, the new plan will accelerate efforts in preparation for a recovery.