Diwali Surprise: Yamaha Ray

This Diwali might just get a bit peppier than ever with some real exciting launches happening. First Asus Google Galaxy Nexus 7, now Yamaha Ray! Yamaha's aiming to enter scooter segment soon. Speculations are it might during Diwali. The two wheeler manufacturing giant teased with the model, Ray, during the Auto Expo held earlier in the year in New Delhi. The scooter brought more than expected foot falls to the Yamaha stall, with many sneaking a peek-a-boo of the scoot and then leaving quite mesmerized. Now, since the scooter, Yamaha Ray, has been seen being tested, rumors are ripe for a Dusshera Diwali launch. Extensive test rides have been noticed. The company is testing the scooter in different conditions, at different places; seems Yamaha does not want to fail its lovers, will definitely bring the best of all two wheelers to meet the competition. The scooter will be manufactured at Surajpur, UP, plant of Yamaha.

As per the spy shots, the company has hardly put on covers on the scooter. No camouflage could mean probable launch. From what was seen during the expo and what has been noticed in the spy shots, no change has been brought to the model. The scooter will be quite a light weight vehicle. “Great things in a small package” might suit it well.  A small scooter with  125 cc engine is what we need, so the scooter might be an instant hit with the public. Speculations are it would be a 4 stroke engine. Telescopic forks at the front gives a smart suspension power to the scooter. Our Indian roads get another vehicle that can fight the pot holes.

With the kind of built that the scooter has been given, Yamaha Ray seems quite much for females. Petite, small, cute, and advertised by John Abraham, all the features attract quite much of female following. It seems Yamaha has deliberately targeted the females with this scooter, rather than building a unisex vehicle. This strategy can pull pretty much profit for Yamaha. This is quite a similar strategy to what TVS Pep received. Not just on strategy, Pep standing on the same dimensions and technical specification will get a tough competition now. Also not to be forgotten is how Hero MotoCorp Pleasure 100, another automatic female-aimed scooter, could not do well, failing to generate the response that was expected out of it, even after when Hero MotoCorp opened dealership venues dedicated to Pleasure. Hopes are up for this scooter to do well, with the same strategies, though. Other than Ray, Yamaha would come up with more for this segment.