Yamaha India is reportedly working on an all-new 125cc automatic scooter that will be launched next year in the country. Codenamed 04X, the scooter is specifically for the Indian market and will be produced alongside the Alpha scooter at Yamaha’s upcoming facility in Chennai that will commence operations by November this year. Production for the new 125cc scooter will start from April 2015 and the company plans to manufacture 1.20 lakh units annually of the scooter for the growing scooter market in the country.
Currently, Yamaha retails the Ray, Ray Z and the Alpha automatic scooters in India that are powered by the same 113cc engine. While very little is actually known about the new 125cc scooter, it is believed that the new 04X will share its underpinnings with the Yamaha Nozza Grande automatic scooter (codename 08X) that is scheduled to go on sale in Vietnam in August this year. The 04X will be the company’s first ever 125cc scooter in India.
Targeted at women, the Yamaha Nozza Grande is powered by a 125cc, air-cooled, fuel injected engine that claims to provide good acceleration and a fuel economy of 54 km/l. The Nozza Grande has been specifically designed for the Asian markets and will also be sold in Thailand. This gives us a valid reason to believe that the new 04X 125cc scooter could be based on the Nozza Grande platform or will be a derivative of the same.
Yamaha has a range of 125cc scooters sold internationally in markets like Europe and Japan and most recently launched the Majesty S 125 scooter with a CVT gearbox in the UK. However, developing an Asian specific model for India makes more financial sense for the company, not to mention that the platform will be much easier to adapt to our conditions. Yamaha could most likely ditch the fuel injection feature from the 125cc engine in favour of a carburettor to keep the prices competitive.
The automatic scooter market has certainly picked pace in recent years and contributed an impressive 25 percent of sales to the total two-wheeler market in the last fiscal. The two-wheeler market is only expected to grow in the years to come, especially the 125cc scooter segment in particular. Compared to the bread and butter 110cc segment, the 125cc space has very limited players inclusive of the Suzuki Access and Swish; Vespa range, Mahindra Rodeo and Duro and the most recent of all the Honda Activa 125. Expect the Yamaha 04X to be priced in the Rs. 55,000-65,000/- range in India when launched.
Source – Autocar Professional
