Price

The Yamaha R15 is a 150cc bike and so naturally people expected the bike to be priced competitively in that range. The regular 150cc bikes i the Indian market are available at around 60k to 65k. So, the R15, with its all performance and special stuff on it, should not cost more than 75k-80k was the speculation. Just after the Auto Expo in Delhi, everyone was talking of this bike having a price tag of around 85k. With time, this price tag went on increasing.
Last week, when the company owned Yamaha showroom opened in India, the Yamaha guys declared that the bike would be priced around Rs. 1 lakh ex-showroom. This price has come as a shock to many. A 150cc bike having a 6 digit price tag is something not very comfortable for the Indian customer.
And now finally, the actual price of the bike has been disclosed. The price is not actually disclosed to the market. But a source from Yamaha has revealed to me that the bike will be priced at around Rs. 1, 01,500. I am saying around because i dont know the exact price. But it will not vary by more than Rs. 500 than the price mentioned above. At this price, the bike seems to be a bit over priced. When asked the marketing chief of Yamaha, he said that the company was targetting annual sales of 2000 units in case of the R15. This figure seems to be far too less. The market is much bigger. In the first year of its launch, the Karizma sold more than 20k units. At that time, the market was not even ready for such a performance bike. And still it did such sales figure. With the kind of hype that the R15 has done, it can definitely sell more than their "revealed" target sales. But at the same time, the price tag will conflict the sales figures
The price tag seems to be a lot too much for a 150cc bike. Agreed that the bike is going to be one hell of a performer. but still, is the Indian customer ready to pay that amount for a 150cc bike? Well, this will be clear once the bike is rolled out and ridden. Will the customers love it or hate it will be soon out... till then ride safe and keep in touch!