Yamaha Alpha first 110cc family scooter in India to offer a disc-brake variant

India Yamaha Motor has rolled out a disc brake variant of its family-scooter model, Cygnus Alpha.

The Alpha, which runs on a single-cylinder, 113cc engine shared from the Ray variants, was originally launched at the 2014 Auto Expo. Rolled out in two new colour options – radiant cyan and marvel black, Alpha’s disc-brake variant will retail at Rs 52,556 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

While the new model will be available at company dealerships with immediate effect, the base model, which comes equipped with the conventional drum brakes on the front wheel, will continue to be sold.

According to SIAM data, Yamaha registered total sales of 76,364 units of its Alpha scooter during FY2015-16, averaging sales of close to 6,350 units per month. A year earlier (FY2014-15), the company had sold 108,653 units of this model, averaging decent monthly sales of more than 9,000 units.

Clearly, the disc brake variant of the Alpha is aimed at reviving the declining sales volumes of this 110cc family scooter model, which competes directly with Honda’s Activa 3G, TVS Motors’ Jupiter and Hero MotoCorp’s Duet among other potential models.

A quick study of the rival scooters in the 110cc segment underlines that only Honda’s urban-scooter, positioned for young males, Aviator currently retails with a disc brake variant. It comes for Rs 56,740, ex-showroom, Delhi. The recently launched TVS Jupiter MillionR also sports a front disc brake, which becomes the second such offering in the 110cc scooter segment.

Honda’s industry-leading model, Activa 3G, in 110cc class, offers only drum brake variants with combi-braking system (deluxe variant) as the recognised safety feature. This variant retails for Rs 50,048 (ex-showroom, Delhi). Hero MotoCorp, also, does not offer the front disc brake variant to its family scooter Duet.

Front disc brakes de rigueur in 125cc scooters

In the 125cc scooter segment, however, front disc brakes are now a regular feature with Honda, Suzuki and Vespa offering specific variants with the same. While the front disc brake variant of the Activa 125 retails for Rs 60,637, (ex-showroom, Delhi), Suzuki’s new Access 125 (front disc brake variant) also sells for more than Rs 60,000 (on-road, Delhi).

This also underlines that although Yamaha Alpha becomes the third scooter model to offer the front disc brake variant in the 110cc scooter market, it does stand out as the first family scooter (in the 110cc segment) to offer the feature. Industry experts say that this is an interesting development by Yamaha to become a segment-first by offering a superior safety feature in the same price range to families who buy conventional, sober-looking, mileage-friendly scooters for utility purposes.

Commenting on the introduction of the new variant, Roy Kurian, vice-president, sales & marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales, said, “The scooter market has witnessed rapid growth in the last few years and Yamaha has been able to make steady inroads in this segment. Yamaha is looking at reaching a 10 percent market share by the end of this year and the introduction of the latest variant of the Cygnus Alpha scooter is expected to further propel its growth in the segment. This latest offering with disc brake is aimed at families who want that additional safety feature.”