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Mr H. Yanagi, CEO and Managing Director, Yamaha Motor India Pvt Ltd, at the launch of Yamaha's 100cc G5 bike in Chennai on Monday. — Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , June 27

YAMAHA Motor India today launched Libero G5, a 100 cc `standard segment' motorbike. The vehicle is priced around Rs 41,000 and is expected to play a key role in Yamaha's aim of selling three lakh vehicles this year, compared to 2.5 lakh last year.

At the launch function, the CEO and Managing Director of Yamaha Motor India, Mr Hiroyuki Yanagi, said that the company intended to spend Rs 70 crore on advertisements this year.

"Advertisements featuring the G5 Yamaha will hit the airwaves soon," he added.

According to the company, the G5 has unique features such as higher ground clearance, rear shock absorbers, and a longer wheelbase.

Last year, the company achieved a turnover of about Rs 900 crore.

The company has set itself a target of one million bikes for 2010.

It does not see its own or its vendors' capacity as any constraint in ramping up production.

All of Yamaha's vehicles are produced with nearly 100 per cent indigenisation.

The Japanese two-wheeler major has a set up in Thailand too, but company officials ruled out buying any components from Yamaha's vendor base there - notwithstanding the Indo-Thailand FTA under which some auto components could be imported duty-free.

Mr Yanagi said that Yamaha Motor India would spend about Rs 200 crore on R&D over the next few years.

He added that the company intends to spruce up its dealer network - some 75 dealers would be replaced with new ones, although the total number of dealers, around 450, would not change.

Yamaha Motor India has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co Ltd of Japan after the Japanese bought out 50 per cent stake of Escorts in 2001.

It has production centres at Faridabad in Haryana and Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh, which employ some 2,000 people.

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