Oriental Insurance ties up with MyTVS

Oriental Insurance ties up with MyTVS
Mumbai, Public sector insurer Oriental Insurance Company has tied up with MyTVS, an after sales service solution provider for car owners for roadside assistance programme.

Under the tie-up, MyTVS would provide 24x7 emergency roadside assistance to the policy holders of Oriental Insurance in Mumbai.

All the motor-own-damage policy holders of Oriental Insurance can avail themselves of the service free of cost, said Mr M Ramadoss, Chairman and Managing Director, Oriental Insurance Company.

All the new and existing policy holders would be able to avail of themselves of this facility. The costs would be borne by the insurance company, Mr Ramadoss said.

However, the service would be available only for private cars and passenger carrying cars which are less than 10 years old.

The charges will be decided based on the volumes, he said.

The service was initially launched in the four southern States and has now been launched in Mumbai. By March, Oriental hopes to offer these services to its holders in Delhi.

MyTVS is present in 21 States with 2,000 service providers, said Mr Srivatchan, President, MyTVS.
Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (2/3/2009)

Yamaha India not yet ready to compete in the 100cc segment
New Delhi,Two-wheeler maker Yamaha India, which is hoping to revive its position in the domestic two-wheeler industry, has said that it was still some time away from challenging the existing players in the entry-level segment.

The company has said that it will seek to establish its presence in the premium segment before it can focus on the low-end of the market.

�We are yet to emerge as competitive as other companies in terms of service support. But we are working on developing models to become competitive in the entry-level segment,� the Yamaha India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mr Yukimine Tsuji, told Business Line.

Market share
Yamaha has models such as Alba, Gladiator and Crux in the low-end of the motorcycle market which represents a bulk of the demand. But it has less than one per cent of the market share in this segment. �We will build customer confidence through our existing models in the 150 cc and above category. Once we have established our basic business through higher volumes in the premium category and sales network, we will then be prepared to challenge this market (entry level),� said Mr Tsuji.

Yamaha�s 150 cc bikes R15 and FZ16 cost above Rs 75,000 to more than a lakh. This is almost double the price at which other players sell their 150 cc segment bikes.

But the company has expressed optimism in its ability to strengthen its premium model sales due to its products, though at a higher price.

Service support
�Yamaha has good products. But it will take time before it is able to establish consumer confidence to provide back-up support for the bikes,� said a motorcycle dealer.

�We are working to strengthen our service support by adding 150 dealers to our existing network of 500. This will help us reach out and compete in the mass segment,� said Mr Koji Arai, Director and Chief Sales Officer.

Annual production
The company�s annual production capacity will touch five lakh units by March-end. Last year, the company produced two lakh units, of which 1.5 lakh units were sold domestically and the remaining exported.

This year, with the economic recession, the company estimates that it will be able to export only 30,000 units.

However, Yamaha�s European subsidiary has initiated discussions with the Indian arm to source parts.

�Last week, Yamaha Europe has requested us to source parts from our Indian operations. But it is at an initial stage and so we cannot disclose the amount,� Mr Tsuji said
Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (2/3/2009)