New Delhi: The Japanese company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Yamaha Motor India Sales, which has witnessed a fall of over 36 per cent in its domestic sales in January-August this year, opines that the pandemic is likely to change the practice of shared transportation as people will prioritise social distancing and personal hygiene.
“Yamaha expects demand to gradually grow, although the total sales volume for the year 2020 will remain the lowest in a decade,” Yamaha Motor India Sales (YMIS) Senior Vice President Ravinder Singh told PTI in an interview. While the next few months will be tough, the market sentiment is estimated to improve by mid-August onwards during festive seasons, he added.
The growing impact of the pandemic has made it important for businesses and companies to re-look at their strategies for the future, he said. “The change in consumer journey will fuel new business models and Yamaha will also need to establish new processes to ensure growth,” Singh said, adding the company is focussing on usage of digital platforms by the dealers to reach the customers.
The company had witnessed that the pandemic brought about a drastic shift in consumer buying habits and behaviours in terms of usage of transportation means, the official said. “It’s likely to moderate the trends of shared mobility as people will prioritise social distancing and personal hygiene. This will effectively build higher preferences for affordable personal mobility, which could boost sales for auto manufacturers,” Singh opined.
