Yamaha had planned an event on the 7th of January but that was postponed to the 9th as the Honda City launch made it difficult to ensure good media turn-out. After whacking our heads for quite sometime now, we are still wondering what Yamaha plans to announce. It’s no secret that the company will be launching a scooter in the Indian market soon, which will be targeted at the male audience. Whether this scooter will use a 113cc or 125cc heart is still unknown but given the penchant for fuel economy, we are betting on the former.
Yamaha could announce a scooter tomorrow or maybe just talk about its future plans (new plant, production expansion, new brand ambassador, et all). However looking at the invite, we are betting on a scooter launch. Now Yamaha could launch the D’elight scooter in India, a product which it launched only last year in the European market. The D’elight is a retro looking scooter which can make Piaggio’s Vespa sweat even in these cold winter days. Notice how the tail light seems to be influenced from the Suzuki Hayabusa’s.
The Yamaha D’elight is powered by a 114cc single-cylinder engine which belts out 7.2 PS of power at 7000 RPM and 7.6 Nm of torque at 5500 RPM. The scooter uses telescopic front forks, 180 mm front disc brake and 12-inch tyres. The D’elight weighs just 98 kgs and Yamaha claims it offers the power of a 125cc while being as agile as a 50cc scooter. Now the 113cc engine used by Yamaha in India and the 114cc engine used by Yamaha in Europe are very similar with minor differences in the the stroke. Besides, the 114cc engine in the European D’elight uses fuel injection.
The Yamaha D’elight is a unisex scooter and if launched in India, it will directly rival the Honda Activa. This scooter will be the key for the company to enter the larger volumes segment in India. The same 113cc engine producing 7 BHP of power and 8.1 Nm of torque is anticipated on the Yamaha D’elight scooter. The company is also expected to launch a scooter called Alpha which could be equipped with a 125cc engine thus pitting it against the Suzuki Swish and the Piaggio Vespa. The Japanese automaker will look to capitalise on the rapidly growing scooter segment which grew by 16.59 percent in the current fiscal between April and September. An entry-level motorcycle is also on the cards for Yamaha.
