Tamil Nadu is finalised by Yamaha for its third plant in India

The Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha is now trying to ramp up its operations in India in order to compete with its peers like Honda and Suzuki but also the top two-wheeler makers like Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto. It has been reported in Business Standard that a location in Tamil Nadu has been finalized to set up its third facility in India to expand its operations.
It was reported that the company has shortlisted Tamil Nadu out of three states, including Karnataka and Maharashtra, and will sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by May this year. A senior government official was quoted as saying "Yamaha will soon sign the MoU with the state government. It may happen in April or May."
The reports also stated that in January this year, India Yamaha Motor said it was scouting for land in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for its proposed third plant in India. The company, which plans to invest Rs 800 crore in the next two years on capacity enhancement, had said it planned to start operations of the new plant by 2014 when the company's sales in India are expected to go up to 10 lakh units annually from 3.3 lakh unit in 2011. India Yamaha had produced 5.2 lakh units in 2011, out of which 1.9 lakh units were exported.
The Indian subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co currently has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana and produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets. In the current year, the company hopes to clock sales of 4.5 lakh units and 6.5 lakh units next year in India. The company is also planning to enter into the Indian scooter segment by the second half of this year.Automobile News