Yamaha's Chennai Plant Achieves One Million Production Milestone

India Yamaha Motor has been expanding its presence in the two-wheeler space and has achieved a major milestone in the process. The two-wheeler maker announced the production of its one-millionth model out of the Chennai plant. The one-millionth product to roll out from the Chennai plant was the highly popular Yamaha Fascino, the company said in a statement. Other two-wheelers that contributed to the landmark production are the Yamaha Ray Z, Ray ZR, Alpha scooters, as well as the Saluto and Saluto RX commuter motorcycles.

Yamaha India managed to achieve the landmark number in a little over two years of operations at the Chennai manufacturing facility. The plant began operations in March 2015 with an initial capacity of 4.5 lakh units per annum and aims to produce up to 9 lakh units every year by 2019.

The company has invested up to Rs. 1300 crore at the Chennai facility and plans to add Rs. 200 crore more by 2018. The Chennai plant is a first for Yamaha Motor Group to have a vendor park in its nearby vicinity. The park has a total of nine vendors which have invested Rs. 760 crore in the space and employ over 1900 personnel. The vendor park setup helps manufacturers minimise losses in production management and distribution, improving efficiency in the manufacturing process.

The Yamaha Fascino was the one-millionth product to roll out from the Chennai plant

Speaking on the occasion, Yamaha India - Deputy Managing Director, Riuji Kawashima said, "This is a remarkable achievement by Yamaha. The production of one million-unit in two years showcases the increasing popularity of our brand among the Indian customers. The important milestone will serve as a major boost for business development as well as future expansion plans in India. We will continue to enhance the production facilities and contribute to the requirements of the Indian two-wheeler market."

Out of the one million units produced, Yamaha says that 8.5 lakh units have been produced for the domestic market while 1.5 lakh units were exported. The Yamaha Fascino is the bike maker's most produced model at the plant with 3.7 lakh units, making it Yamaha's most successful model in India. The Chennai plant has production ratio of 7:3 at present between scooters and motorcycles. The company's highest export models include the FZ series (produced at the Faridabad facility), Ray ZR and the Fascino.

Yamaha India - Vice President, Mukesh Kumar said, "This major milestone would not have been possible without the hard work and diligent efforts of our entire team from production, manufacturing, purchase, R&D and all other departments as well as the suppliers. In the first year i.e. 2015, we produced 2.29 lakh units, the very next year in 2016 we produced 4.17 lakh units and this year till date we have produced 3.54 lakh units. We are proud to contribute to the world's number 1 two-wheeler market."

The Chennai plant also acts a manufacturing base for largely African as well as ASEAN and Latin American markets for the manufacturer. Yamaha India says its total production from facilities at Chennai and Surajpur will reach 1.6 million units per year by 2019.