Yamaha Launches Yamaha Ray Scooter at Rs 46,000

The PYTs of India can get ready to embrace a new life of freedom as Yamaha finally launched its scooter, i.e. Yamaha Ray in Hyderabad today. As Yamaha got ready to launch Ray, its first model to foray into India's scooter market, they aggressively marketed the scooter as a woman's ride with their obvious women-oriented marketing campaign. With this launch, Yamaha is contending for a 10 per cent share in India's two-wheeler market by 2016, with 15 per cent of that share coming from the scooter segment. Priced at Rs 46, 000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), Yamaha Ray sports a 113cc four stroke, single cylinder engine mated to an automatic CVT transmission, and comes fitted with an electric start and 5-litre tank.

Furthermore, it can deliver a peak power of 7bhp at 7,500rpm and a maximum torque of 8.1 Nm at 5,000rpm. The Japanese motorbike manufacturer has used the rather obsolete carburettor instead of the advanced fuel injection system to cut down on costs. But what makes it so much of a women's ride is its provisions for the comfort of women riders, namely, a comfortable seat with easy leg reach, abundant storage space and easy to use center and stands.

Other than the company's rather interesting marketing initiatives, that also saw Deepika Padukone endorsing the brand among an array of other unique tactics, the women-oriented scooter saw the involvement of women during its assembly stages. Today's launch will also see Yamaha announce the winners of its 'Guess and Win' contest.

Besides that, Yamaha will also announce a women's training program, but there isn't much information available about that yet. But now that Yamaha's first scooter is finally here, it remains to be seen how it scores in the competition posed by Honda Activa, Suzuki Access, Mahindra Duro and Hero Maestro.