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Yamaha News,ENG,No.1,2008,3月,3月,Frontier 2020,Yamahaʼs vision for the future,Up Front,Frontier 2020,Creating new value and developing markets with Frontier spirit,Yamahaʼs vision for 2020,Four Frontiers,Challenges for Four Frontiers,New medium-term management plan: 2008-2010,The goal of the 3-year plan,Motorcycle Business – Increasing worldwide unit sales to 7.78 million in 2010,Marine Business – Strengthening each product division,ATV, SSV Business – Improving profitability and expanding sales,IM (Intelligent Machinery) Business – Strengthening product competitiveness,For further growth and value creation,The Yamaha Tales - Vol. 9,Promoting the Yamaha brand and nurturing world-class teams YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE,YAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE,Malaysia,The Yamaha Tales - Vol. 10,Popular acclaim for the revolutionary 4-wheeler chassis “Performance Damper”,Performance Damper,Racing Express,Revving up for the 2008 race season,Racing,MotoGP,Fiat Yamaha Team,Valentino Rossi,YZR-M1,Reed leads ranking on a hot streak,World Superbike Championship,Tech3 Yamaha Team,Jorge Lorenzo,YZF-R1,7th victory for Arnaud Demeester in the “Enduro du Touquet”,World Supersport Championship,Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team,Colin Edwards,YZ450FM,On the rise, Taylor grabs 4th in Round 4,World Motocross Championship MX1,Yamaha Team YZF,James Toseland,YZ450F,AMASupercross Motocross Championship,Yamaha GMT94,Noriyuki Haga,YZ250F,Enduro du Touquet,Yamaha World Supersport Team,Troy Corser,FX Nytro,WSPA Power Sports Snowmobile Tour,Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni,Shinichi Nakatomi,Yamaha Motocross Team,Sebastien Gimbert,Yamaha Factory Supercross/Motocross Team,David Checa,L&M Racing Supercross Team,Broc Parkes,Yamaha Motor France Ipone Team,Fabien Foret,Yamaha Factory Snocross Team,Massimo Roccoli,Yamaha Minocqua Racing,Josh Coppins,David Philippaerts,Grant Langston,Josh Hill,Broc Hepler,Chad Reed,Nathan Ramsey,Arnaud Demeester,Steve Taylor,Cory Davis,Yuji Nakazawa,World Topics,10 millionth motorcycle milestone reached in Indonesia,Motorcycle,PT. Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing,Indonesia,PT. Yamaha Motor Manufacturing West Java,Thai Yamaha Motor enhances Labor Standard with TLS8001-2003,CSR,Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,Thailand,Latin American Yamaha marine distributor meeting,Marine,Mexico,Los Cabos,YMMEX holds 17th Dealer Meeting,Dealer Meeting,Yamaha Motor de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.,BWʼs Concept Model,The 3rd CSR Meeting in Asia,Opening of new workshops celebrated,S.A.T. Lda.,Manuel Inocêncio,Republic of Cape Verde,YRA held in three Caribbean island nations,The Caribbean Region,Yamaha Riding Academy,Customer meeting held for NGO clients,Yamaha-Prodimpex Customer Meet,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Thai Yamaha Motor wins Marketing Award 2007,Gold Award of the Marketing Association of Thailand,Born to beDifferent,New model FZ150i unveiling and MotoGP fan event,Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd.,FZ150i,Malaysia,Traffic Safety Contest held for college students in Hanoi,Traffic Safety Contest,Yamaha Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd.,Vietnam,Chongqing Jianshe Yamaha receives cityʼs Outstanding Contribution Award,Chongqing Jianshe Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,Zhou Xiaohang,China,ISDE 2007, six days of international enduro,La Serena ISDE Championship,Team Yamaha-Italy,Nicolas Urrutia,Chile,WR450F,Franco Caimi,Cristobal Urrutia,3rd OMDO Central American Service Meeting held,OMDO Central American Service Meeting,Marelco Ltd.,Belize,Yamaha gains No.1 market share in motorcycle segment,Yamaha Motor Italia S.p.A.,Italy,Corporate rebirth for Yamaha in India,Auto Expo,Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd.,Tsutomu Mabuchi,India,YZF-R15,The Art of Engineering,Yamaha Motor and Mitsui & Co. establish new company in Europe,Mitsui & Co., Ltd.,The Netherlands,Yamaha Motor Middle Europe B.V.,Zoom In,The technology beneath those stylish good looks,TMAX

YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD.MARCH 1, 2008 ENGLISH

No.1

Frontier 2020Yamaha’s vision for the futureIn February Yamaha Motor Company announced its new medium-term 3-yearmanagement plan and the vision looking ahead to the year 2020. Find outabout what Yamaha sees for the future and the action plans moving forward.

worldwide, as a way to further enhanceour brand value.

3) Engine/Component frontierThe aim of the “Engine/Component”frontier is not only to develop motorcy-cle components and aluminum and mag-nesium parts but also to build businessesaround a variety of power sources, suchas power assist systems, automobileengines and next generation engines.Based on our over 50-year store ofexpertise gained through personalmobility product development and man-ufacturing engineering, this frontierseeks to grow our business by develop-ing engine components into a core com-petency.

4) New business domain frontierOther than engine technologies, YamahaMotor has developed technology such ascontrol technologies–acquired in the devel-opment of industrial robots and industrialunmanned helicopters–and biotechnology,derived from the company’s Life Sciencebusiness. The core competence of thesetechnologies can be applied in other fields.The company will aim to take these tech-nologies to new domains and build newbusinesses on them.

2 YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008

UP FRONT

YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008 3

al mobility as a means to achieve greaterharmony with the natural environment.Yamaha Motor will offer optimal mobil-ity solutions from a broader perspectivethat includes not only products but alsooverall transportation systems alongwith lifestyle-oriented approaches.Specifically, this frontier encompassesdomains that include motorcycles withsuperior environmental performance,low priced motorcycles and new-conceptpersonal commuter vehicles, in additionto such personal mobility mainstays asour PAS electro-hybrid bicycles andelectric vehicles. Yamaha Motor willoffer unique new forms of personalmobility that are safe as well as achiev-ing a higher level of environmentalfriendliness for the two-wheeled vehicle.

2) YAMAHA brand frontierThere are over 30 million customersaround the globe today that use prod-ucts of the YAMAHA brand, includingthose of Yamaha Corp. (music). In the“Yamaha Brand” frontier, the companyaims to offer valuable intangibles suchas peripheral services and recreationalsolutions—the so-called “software”aspect of the business—to customerswho enjoy YAMAHA brand products

Four FrontiersYamaha Motor’s long-term vision,“Frontier 2020” has defined “FourFrontiers” for business expansion andthe directions the company will take inrespect to each of them over the periodbetween 2008 and 2020. The word“Frontier” is used to describe the open-ing of new domains. At the time of Yamaha Motor Co.,Ltd.’s founding in 1955, the companyestablished itself by using its own cor-porate strengths to open up a new fron-tier, and it has grown to its presentglobal status in the same way. And nowwe believe that it is time to return tothat pioneering spirit and undertake anew start with the determination to acreate new domains for the future. Bymeeting the developmental challengespresented by each of these “Four Fron-tiers” heading towards 2020, YamahaMotor will transform the quality of itsgrowth and evolve into both a biggerand more distinctive enterprise. Let’stake a look at these “Four Frontiers” ingreater detail.

1) Personal Mobility frontierIn recent year, increasing attention hascome to focus on sound forms of person-

In fiscal year 2007 Yamaha Motor’sconsolidated revenue reached arecord high of 1,756.7 billion yen. InFebruary 2008, the company alsointroduced “Frontier 2020,” its newlong-term vision detailing manage-ment and business strategies lookingto the year 2020.In this issue of Yamaha News we out-line the “Frontier 2020” vision andthe new three-year medium termmanagement plan that will be phaseone of Yamaha Motor’s action plansaiming toward 2020.

Yamaha’s vision for 2020Yamaha Motor has grown into the glob-al corporate group it is today by offer-ing customers throughout the world arange of products based primarily inour core motorcycle engine technolo-gies. And now, to build toward thefuture, we aim to transform the qualityof this growth.The directions of this transformationcan be divided into the following threeareas. 1) Evolving Yamaha Motor intoa bigger, more distinctive enterprise by

strengthening our dedication to qualityproduct creation and creating diverseforms of new value for our customers,not only in the motorcycle market butalso in a range of other businesses; 2)Achieving sustainable development forthese businesses at a high growth rate;and 3) Vitalizing our corporate environ-

ment by making it one in which indi-vidual employees can excel and attainself-fulfillment. In order to achieve these three goals,Yamaha Motor has defined “Four Fron-tiers” and has launched new challengesin each of them.

Abbreviation:

PAS: Electro-hybrid bicycle

EV: Electric vehicle

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BrandBrand

New businessdomainsNew businessdomains

Personalmobility Personalmobility

Corebusinesses

Corebusinesses

Other business

Other business

Other business

2020

Goal: Transforming thequality of growth

■ Evolving into a bigger, and moredistinctive enterprise

■ Achieving sustainable high growth■ Vitalizing the corporate environment

Pursuing core competenceExpanding by developing the customer base and brand equity

Expanding through superior technology Personal Mobility

frontier

YAMAHA brand frontier

Engine/component frontier

New business domainfrontier (control tech-

nologies, Life Science)

Collaboration with Yamaha Corp.

Lifestyle proposals

New business with shared customers’ base

Strengthening the synergy among eachbusiness brand

Strengthening each business brand

Accessory and service businesses

Outdoor leisure / vehicles

Personal commuting-hardware and software

Low-end commuter vehicle

Environmentally friendly performance motorcycles

PAS-EV

Next-generation engines

Automotive engines

Power assistsystem

Al/Mg casting and forging

Motorcycle components

Industrial robots

Life Science

Surveillance,Security,Defense

Challenges for Four Frontiers

Current businesses

2007

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4 YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008 YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008 5

For further growth and valuecreationDuring the new three-year mediumterm, Yamaha Motor will make invest-ments of 300 billion yen (an increase of55 billion yen over the previous medi-um term) toward realizing its twinobjectives of further growth and valuecreation. Yamaha Motor publicly announcedthese plans on the 5th of February.YMC President Takashi Kajikawa helda press conference in Tokyo to brief themedia and analysts. Everyone in theglobal Yamaha Motor group must makea collective effort to realize the goalslaid out in these plans as the path wemust pursue in order to ensure our con-tinued success as a vital corporate groupanswering the needs of the customersand society in our changing world.

IM (Intelligent Machinery) Busi-ness – Strengthening productcompetitivenessYamaha Motor aims to improve prof-itability and expand sales by strength-ening product competitiveness. Specifi-cally, we plan to hone the competitiveedge of our products and develop newdemand by introducing compact, high-speed modular surface mounters, andby bringing electric motor-driven feed-ers to the market, and incorporatingthem in a new product series. Also, wewill strengthen the solutions businessby expanding the lineup of peripheralproducts such as printers and inspectiondevices. We will also enhance sales andservice by establishing sales offices andtechnical centers both domestically andworldwide, and stationing staff in majoroverseas markets.

size models in North America andEurope. In developing markets, wewill work to maintain our dominantmarket position by aggressively intro-ducing four-stroke models. In the Yamaha PWC segment, thecompany intends to increase both salesand profit by expanding the productlineup and strengthening the businessin sport boats powered by jet pumppropulsion systems. In order to achieve these goals, Yama-ha Motor will move to optimize pro-duction with the May launch of theFukuroi plant in Japan.

ATV, SSV Business – Improvingprofitability and expanding salesIn the mature ATV markets, Yamahawill focus on maintaining the top posi-tion in the sports category. At the sametime, we will strive to increase marketshare in the utility category. With regard to SSVs (Side by Sidevehicles), a category pioneered byYamaha in 2003 ahead of its competi-tion, the company will increase varia-tions on the Rhino models, thus differ-entiating Yamaha from latecomerbrands and demonstrating our productsuperiority in the SSV segment to cus-tomers.

“Frontier 2020” is comprised of four3-year medium-term managementplans. The first 3-year medium-termplan starting this year is the vitalfirst phase toward realizing ourlong-term “Frontier 2020” goals.

The goal of the 3-year planKando is a Japanese word for thesimultaneous feelings of deep satisfac-tion and intense excitement that peopleexperience when they encounter some-thing of exceptional value. YamahaMotor’s corporate mission is to be a“Kando Creating Company.” In orderto achieve its mission, Yamaha Motorwill focus on increasing profits,achieving further growth, and creatinggreater value for our customers. Yama-ha Motor aims to achieve 2.1 trillionyen in net sales and 143 billion yen inoperating income, and an ordinaryincome of 150 billion yen in the nextthree years. The following is an out-line of the plans for each of the busi-ness sectors.

Motorcycle Business – Increas-ing worldwide unit sales to 7.78million in 2010Worldwide motorcycle demand isexpected to expand 12%, from 46.6million units in 2007 to 52.3 millionunits in 2010. The ASEAN countriesand India will be the major growthengines, with Latin America also fore-cast to grow substantially. In mature markets such as Japan,North America, and Europe, the com-pany will continue high-value-addedmarketing, and aim to increase prof-itability. Furthermore, Yamaha Motor placesthe restructuring of its business inIndia as a top priority. Plans call forthe introduction of high-value-addedproducts that are unique to Yamahaand strengthening the sales network,led by directly-run “Yamaha Bike Sta-tion” dealerships to be opened in nine

major cities. And by creating a struc-ture that enables Yamaha to createtruly original products, we aim toachieve sales of 650,000 units in theIndian market by 2010.In China, the market that boasts theworld’s highest demand for motorcy-cles, Yamaha aims to expand sales tothe maximum level of current produc-tion capacity of our factories in Chinaby 2010. The company will also continue toproactively invest in resources inIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Thailand and Vietnam. Yamaha Motoris focusing on its plans to strengthenits automatic-transmission motorcyclemodels, which Yamaha has introducedto the market ahead of its competition.Yamaha will also expand its produc-

tion capacity in these five ASEANnations to 4,700,000 units. YamahaMotor also has plans to develop mar-kets in Cambodia and Laos. Latin America is also expected to beone of the new developing markets.Yamaha will raise production capacityin Brazil to 600,000 units, and plansalso call for the opening of a newassembly plant in Argentina. Improvements in both the quality andquantity of sales channels will be car-ried out in Colombia and Mexico.

Marine Business – Strengtheningeach product divisionIn the outboard motor business, Yama-ha will further enhance collaborationwith boat builders, while extending theproduct lineup for medium and large-

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Goals of the New Medium-term Management PlanBuilding the foundation to move forward to the next era –Creating higher customer value and winning greater trust from stake-holders

Corporate missionKando Creating Company

■ Strengthening management quality to earn the public trust

■ Creating value from a long-term perspective

■ Investing management resources strategically in strengthening management quality and creating value

GrowthProfit

Higher customer

value

Winning greater trust from stakeholders

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YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008 76 YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2008

Promoting the Yamaha brand and nurturing world-class teamsYAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE

a force that can have an influence on thevehicle handling. Yamaha’s Perfor-mance Damper was developed with theaim of minimizing this effect by puttinga damping force on chassis distortionwhen subjected to various g-forces. Themechanism is a simple one that places

Yamaha is known worldwide asa developer and manufacturerof motorcycle engines. It is aless known fact that Yamahaalso has a long record of auto-mobile engine development aswell as efforts to improve vehi-cle chassis performance. Oneof the products of these effortsis the highly successful “Per-formance Damper” that is nowbeing used on an increasingnumber of models.

Outstanding performance from asimple mechanismYamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has a divisionspecialized in the development and sup-ply of automobile engines to car manu-facturers called our Automotive Opera-tions (AM). The high-performanceengines supplied by Yamaha to Toyota,Ford and Volvo have won a strong rep-utation. At our AM operations we alsoresearch and develop systems toimprove the ride and performance ofthe automobile. One of the products ofthese efforts is our “PerformanceDamper.” An automobile is subjected to g-forcein several directions when in motion,which causes some degree of flexingand twisting of the chassis. The actualdistortion of the chassis when subjectedto these forces is small, at less than onemillimeter, but at faster speeds a result-ing reflex occurs quite rapidly and with

high-performance dampers ontwo lateral bars spanning thechassis. The concept is simple,but only Yamaha thought tomake this into an effective meansto achieve a surer feeling of theroad and a smoother, quality ride.This Performance Damper wasfirst adopted on the Toyota

Crown Athlete VX sedan in 2001 andits use has continued to spread. Today ithas become a coveted after-market fea-ture for BMW, VW, Audi and Porschecars. Drivers praise it as a “Magic stick”that improves both the comfort of theride and handling stability.

Popular acclaim for the revolutionary 4-wheeler chassis “Performance Damper”

Uniting the ASEAN region under the Yamaha brandThe YAMAHA ASEAN CUP is anevent that aims to build the Yamahabrand image through a shared experi-ence of the excitement and satisfactionof racing that has always symbolizedthe Yamaha spirit of challenge in aborderless international race venue.Also, by using popular productionmoped models as the race machines,this event shows people new ways toenjoy motorcycling while at the sametime making a big contribution to salespromotion by displaying the outstand-ing performance and reliability of thesemodels.

Competing together to be world-classYamaha also sees the YAMAHAASEAN CUP as a gateway to world-class competition for aspiring teamsand riders, and that spirit of challengeis reflected in the constantly risinglevel of competitiveness of the nationalteams and riders that qualify for theCUP. In this way, the YAMAHAASEAN CUP can be seen as a symbolof all the activities and the spirit of theYamaha brand in the ASEAN region. Atthe end of 2008, Thailand will be hostingthe YAMAHA ASEAN CUP for the sec-ond time and the racing is sure to be hotand exciting.

On December 15 and 16, the recentYAMAHA ASEAN CUP RACE 2007took place in Malaysia. This was thefifth holding of this annual champi-onship race launched by Yamaha in2003 for riders who have qualified innational competitions to compete forthe title of No. 1 in the ASEAN regionon Yamaha production mopeds.

A total of 47 select riders from the five ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand competed inthe Expert and Novice classes. Indonesian riders won both classes to give Indonesia the overall title for the second consecutive year andthird time in the event’s history.

The host country representative, Managing Director C.H. Ng of HongLeong Yamaha Motor Sdn Bhd, said, “I am glad to see many peopleenjoying the ASEAN CUP in this successful event. I want to thankeveryone involved.”

The borderless atmosphere of this competition was seen in thefriendly exchanges between the rival riders and teams of the differ-ent countries at the event party.

At the YAMAHA Gallery exhibit, visitors saw a display of theMotoGP racer YZR-M1 and imported sport bikes and the exhibits onthe history of the ASEAN CUP and Yamaha production models fromthe ASEAN region.

Many of the spectators came to the race venue on their own T135s (usedin the Expert class) and T110s (used in the Novice class). Many said theyappreciated the high performance potential these models shown in theraces.

Yamaha’s Performance Damper was featured for the first time on the 2001 model Toyota Crown Athlete VX An example of a Performance Damper mounted on a sports car

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North America’s AMA Supercross championshipseries got underway on January 5th with roundone at Anaheim, California.After just missing the title last year and endingthe season ranked 2nd, Chad Reed of L&MRacing Supercross Team is back this year racinghard and fast on his YZ450F. In the openinground he took the lead in the first lap, only todrop to 4th after his engine stalled. But, by lap fivehe was in the lead again and raced on to grab thewin and start the 2008 season off with a bang. In round two at Phoenix, Arizona, Reed staged atough battle for the lead with Kawasaki’s J.Stewart and finished the race 2nd. Back in Anaheim for round three, Reed again ledthe race from the first lap. On lap four, Josh Hillof the Yamaha Factory Supercross/MotocrossTeam moved into 2nd position and the twoYZ450F riders went on that way to a 1-2 finish ina dazzling display of Yamaha power. Havingmoved up from the Lites class this season, Hillproved that he has what it takes to compete in theSupercross by keeping pace with Reed and fin-ishing 2nd with just a 6.1 sec. gap. Bad weather forced the fourth round at SanFrancisco to be shortened to 15 laps. Here againReed’s strength shone as he passed K. Windam(Honda) on lap six to move into 2nd position andthen run on to another victory unchallenged afterthe leader, D. Millsaps (Honda), ran off course.These back-to-back victories gave Reed a solidlead in the season ranking. Meanwhile, last year’s AMA Motocross champi-on, Grant Langston of the Yamaha FactorySupercross/Motocross Team also started the season with a strong performance at Anaheim,where he got the holeshot and lead the race fromlap four before dropping to a 4th-place finish. Inround four he also finished strongly with a 5th.

Reed leads ranking on a hot streakReed leads ranking on a hot streak

“I felt awesome out there tonight. My bike’s a lot of fun to go out there and raceon,” said Chad after the 4th race

Hill debuted on the AMA circuit in 2006. In round three he chasedReed to a strong 2nd

Revving up for the 2008 race seasonHere is the list of Yamaha teams and riders who will be going forthe 2008 titles at the top level of international racing. In the MotoGP, which has already begun its 2008 series, there aretwo Yamaha teams competing for the title with two riders each,just like last year. The Yamaha factory team is the Fiat YamahaTeam. Its two riders this year are Valentino Rossi, who haschanged to Bridgestone tires in his bid to regain his MotoGP cham-pionship title, and Jorge Lorenzo, 2-time winner of the 250ccWorld GP title who joins the team for the first time this season. Yamaha is also supporting the Tech3 Yamaha Team with its twonew riders for 2008. One is Colin Edwards, and his teammate islast year’s WSB champion, James Toseland, who was also theyoungest-ever World Superbike champion in 2004.Edwards is also a former WSB champion, which means that all

four of this year’s Yamaha MotoGP riders are true champions inname and fact, and you can be sure they will bring us plenty ofexciting racing this year. In the World Motocross Championships that kicks off in April, theYamaha Motocross Team will be competing for the title. Its ridersin MX1 are Josh Coppins, who lost what looked to be a sure cham-pionship title last season due to injury, and the fast-rising DavidPhilippaerts, who newly joins the team after finishing last seasonranked sixth. Yamaha teams are also competing in the already begun WorldSuperbike (WSB) championship, World Supersport (WSS) cham-pionship and the AMA Supercross championship. Yamaha teamswill be competing in the AMA Motocross championships that startin May as well.

Fiat Yamaha Team Tech3 Yamaha Team

machine: YZR-M1

MotoGPmachine: YZ450FM

World MotocrossChampionship MX1

Yamaha Motocross Team

Valentino Rossi Jorge Lorenzo Colin Edwards James Toseland Josh Coppins David Philippaerts

Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team Yamaha GMT94

World Superbike Championship

Noriyuki Haga Troy Corser Sebastien Gimbert

Shinichi Nakatomi

Yamaha World Supersport Team

World Supersport Championship

Broc Parkes Fabien Foret Massimo Roccoli

Yamaha Team YZF

Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini byLeoni

machine: YZF-R6

machine: YZF-R1

AMA Supercross/Motocross Championship

Yamaha Factory Supercross/Motocross Team

Grant Langston Josh Hill machine: YZ450F machine: YZ450F

Broc Hepler machine: YZ250F

L&M Racing Supercross Team

Chad Reed Nathan Ramseymachine: YZ450F machine: YZ450F

* Grant Langston andJosh Hill are competingin the AMA SupercrossChampionships and willalso compete in theAMA MX categories.* Broc Hepler is compet-ing in the AMA SX Litesand will also compete inthe AMA MX Lites cate-gories.

* The L&M Racing Supercross Team is competing onlyin the AMA Supercross category.

David Checa

A M A

The 2008 running of the legendary French sand race Enduro du Touquet was a banner dayfor Yamaha as “Sandman” Arnaud Demeester of the Yamaha Motor France Ipone Team bat-tled to his seventh victory in this race on the Yamaha YZ450F. With the cancellation of this year’s Dakar Rally, many of Euorpe’s best off-road ridersturned their sights on “Le Touquet.” In the field of nearly 1,000 riders there were 20 profes-sional competitors and 109 foreign entries. And a grand gallery of some 250,000 turned outto watch the action. What they saw was indeed an action-packed contest between Demeesterand his Honda rival, Timoteï Potisek, that came down to the last turn of the last lap of the 3-hour enduro. Taking full advantage of the unfaltering performance of his YZ450F machine in the toughsand-track conditions and its decisive speed advantage on the straights, Demeester was able tolead the race almost from start to finish, despite a last-lap charge by the combative Potisek. Thethird rider on the podium was Pierrick Paget of Yamaha Racing Planet R’ Ipone Team.“I can say that the race was really fantastic… Exciting from the beginning to the end,”beamed Jean-Claude Olivier, President of Yamaha Motor France. The winner, Arnaud Demeester of the Yamaha Motor France Ipone Team

7th victory for Arnaud Demeester inthe “Enduro du Touquet”


Endurodu Touquet

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North America’s AMA Supercross championshipseries got underway on January 5th with roundone at Anaheim, California.After just missing the title last year and endingthe season ranked 2nd, Chad Reed of L&MRacing Supercross Team is back this year racinghard and fast on his YZ450F. In the openinground he took the lead in the first lap, only todrop to 4th after his engine stalled. But, by lap fivehe was in the lead again and raced on to grab thewin and start the 2008 season off with a bang. In round two at Phoenix, Arizona, Reed staged atough battle for the lead with Kawasaki’s J.Stewart and finished the race 2nd. Back in Anaheim for round three, Reed again ledthe race from the first lap. On lap four, Josh Hillof the Yamaha Factory Supercross/MotocrossTeam moved into 2nd position and the twoYZ450F riders went on that way to a 1-2 finish ina dazzling display of Yamaha power. Havingmoved up from the Lites class this season, Hillproved that he has what it takes to compete in theSupercross by keeping pace with Reed and fin-ishing 2nd with just a 6.1 sec. gap. Bad weather forced the fourth round at SanFrancisco to be shortened to 15 laps. Here againReed’s strength shone as he passed K. Windam(Honda) on lap six to move into 2nd position andthen run on to another victory unchallenged afterthe leader, D. Millsaps (Honda), ran off course.These back-to-back victories gave Reed a solidlead in the season ranking. Meanwhile, last year’s AMA Motocross champi-on, Grant Langston of the Yamaha FactorySupercross/Motocross Team also started the season with a strong performance at Anaheim,where he got the holeshot and lead the race fromlap four before dropping to a 4th-place finish. Inround four he also finished strongly with a 5th.

Reed leads ranking on a hot streakReed leads ranking on a hot streak

“I felt awesome out there tonight. My bike’s a lot of fun to go out there and raceon,” said Chad after the 4th race

Hill debuted on the AMA circuit in 2006. In round three he chasedReed to a strong 2nd

Revving up for the 2008 race seasonHere is the list of Yamaha teams and riders who will be going forthe 2008 titles at the top level of international racing. In the MotoGP, which has already begun its 2008 series, there aretwo Yamaha teams competing for the title with two riders each,just like last year. The Yamaha factory team is the Fiat YamahaTeam. Its two riders this year are Valentino Rossi, who haschanged to Bridgestone tires in his bid to regain his MotoGP cham-pionship title, and Jorge Lorenzo, 2-time winner of the 250ccWorld GP title who joins the team for the first time this season. Yamaha is also supporting the Tech3 Yamaha Team with its twonew riders for 2008. One is Colin Edwards, and his teammate islast year’s WSB champion, James Toseland, who was also theyoungest-ever World Superbike champion in 2004.Edwards is also a former WSB champion, which means that all

four of this year’s Yamaha MotoGP riders are true champions inname and fact, and you can be sure they will bring us plenty ofexciting racing this year. In the World Motocross Championships that kicks off in April, theYamaha Motocross Team will be competing for the title. Its ridersin MX1 are Josh Coppins, who lost what looked to be a sure cham-pionship title last season due to injury, and the fast-rising DavidPhilippaerts, who newly joins the team after finishing last seasonranked sixth. Yamaha teams are also competing in the already begun WorldSuperbike (WSB) championship, World Supersport (WSS) cham-pionship and the AMA Supercross championship. Yamaha teamswill be competing in the AMA Motocross championships that startin May as well.

Fiat Yamaha Team Tech3 Yamaha Team

machine: YZR-M1

MotoGPmachine: YZ450FM

World MotocrossChampionship MX1

Yamaha Motocross Team

Valentino Rossi Jorge Lorenzo Colin Edwards James Toseland Josh Coppins David Philippaerts

Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team Yamaha GMT94

World Superbike Championship

Noriyuki Haga Troy Corser Sebastien Gimbert

Shinichi Nakatomi

Yamaha World Supersport Team

World Supersport Championship

Broc Parkes Fabien Foret Massimo Roccoli

Yamaha Team YZF

Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini byLeoni

machine: YZF-R6

machine: YZF-R1

AMA Supercross/Motocross Championship

Yamaha Factory Supercross/Motocross Team

Grant Langston Josh Hill machine: YZ450F machine: YZ450F

Broc Hepler machine: YZ250F

L&M Racing Supercross Team

Chad Reed Nathan Ramseymachine: YZ450F machine: YZ450F

* Grant Langston andJosh Hill are competingin the AMA SupercrossChampionships and willalso compete in theAMA MX categories.* Broc Hepler is compet-ing in the AMA SX Litesand will also compete inthe AMA MX Lites cate-gories.

* The L&M Racing Supercross Team is competing onlyin the AMA Supercross category.

David Checa

A M A

The 2008 running of the legendary French sand race Enduro du Touquet was a banner dayfor Yamaha as “Sandman” Arnaud Demeester of the Yamaha Motor France Ipone Team bat-tled to his seventh victory in this race on the Yamaha YZ450F. With the cancellation of this year’s Dakar Rally, many of Euorpe’s best off-road ridersturned their sights on “Le Touquet.” In the field of nearly 1,000 riders there were 20 profes-sional competitors and 109 foreign entries. And a grand gallery of some 250,000 turned outto watch the action. What they saw was indeed an action-packed contest between Demeesterand his Honda rival, Timoteï Potisek, that came down to the last turn of the last lap of the 3-hour enduro. Taking full advantage of the unfaltering performance of his YZ450F machine in the toughsand-track conditions and its decisive speed advantage on the straights, Demeester was able tolead the race almost from start to finish, despite a last-lap charge by the combative Potisek. Thethird rider on the podium was Pierrick Paget of Yamaha Racing Planet R’ Ipone Team.“I can say that the race was really fantastic… Exciting from the beginning to the end,”beamed Jean-Claude Olivier, President of Yamaha Motor France. The winner, Arnaud Demeester of the Yamaha Motor France Ipone Team



Endurodu Touquet

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In the 2007-2008 season of the top snowmobilerace competition in North America, the WSPAPower Sports Snowmobile Tour, all the Yamahariders are competing against the 2-strokes onmachines based on the 4-stroke FX Nytro. In the opening round of the series held inDuluth, Minnesota, from Nov. 23 to 25, SteveTaylor of the Yamaha Factory Snocross Teamwas in the heat of the competition during thequalifying, but machine trouble eventually kepthim from racing in the finals. Still, he wasenthusiastic about the awesome potential of thisYamaha Nytro machine that last season becamethe first 4-stroke machine ever to win a WPSArace. “This engine hauls! They have that thingworking really well and it doesn’t miss a beat.The weight isn’t too far off the 2-strokes, andthough I’m not a big guy, I don’t have troublethrowing it around,” he said after the race.Yuji Nakazawa of the Yamaha MinocquaRacing team also failed to make the finals, andCory Davis of the Yamaha Factory SnocrossTeam withdrew from the qualifying due toinjuries. In the second and third rounds of the series heldon the same weekend two months later after theholiday break in Shakopee, Minnesota, the threeriders failed to qualify for the finals again.However, Taylor was riding well, scoring aholeshot in the qualifying. Meanwhile,Nakazawa and Davis suffered bad luck such asbumps with other riders that kept them fromqualifying. Taylor’s potential finally brought results in thefourth round in West Yellowstone, Montana,where he made it to the finals for the first timethis season, and qualified for a front-row startingposition. Although he dropped one place in therace, he still finished an impressive 4th. The fin-ish put him in 14th place in the season ranking atthat point. Davis also qualified for the finals for the firsttime and ran strongly to a 13th-place finish.

“We need this confidence boost,” Taylor said after finishing an impressive 4th

Indonesia

We always welcome your contributions. Write to the editorial staff

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501 Japan,

<[email protected]>

Mexico

On November 9 and 10, 2007, representatives from ten Yamaha marinedistributors in nine Latin American countries gathered in Los Cabos at thesouthern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Presentations weremade on the Yamaha business vision for 2008 and reports were heardabout each distributor’s market conditions and business plans. All theparticipants were focused on ways to build on Yamaha’s No. 1 position inthe marine market in Latin America’s growing economies. From Takuya Nagatani, YMC

Latin American Yamahamarine distributor meeting


WPSA

Nakazawa skipped the fourth roundof the WPSA series to take on thechallenge of the World ChampionshipSnowmobile Derby in Eagle River,Wisconsin. Dating back to 1964 andnow in its 45th running, this is the racewhere snowmobiles first took theirpresent form as sporty snow-goingvehicles. His effort was rewarded as he scoredhis first victory in professional racingin the U.S., again riding the same FXNytro as in the WPSA.

About the Nytro, Taylor said:“The 4-stroke motor sounds somuch different that it just capturespeople’s imagination”

Cory missed round one with injuries but came back in round four toqualify and finish 13th

In rounds two and three Nakazawa was surprised by thecourse: “the snow so soft and deep. I’m used to packed snow inJapan”

On the rise, Taylor grabs 4th inRound 4On the rise, Taylor grabs 4th inRound 4

Thailand

As a part of the com-pany’s CSR(Corporate SocialR e s p o n s i b i l i t y )efforts, Thai YamahaMotor Co., Ltd.(TYM) enhanced itshuman rights andlabor standards byhaving its operationscertified by the LaborMinistry’s Thai LaborStandard (TLS8001-

2003). This certification marks an outstanding benchmark of achievement byTYM to meet international human rights standards and responsibility towardits personnel and society at large, and thereby minimizing operational risk andcontributing long-term to competitive edge. After TLS8001: 2003 certification,training sessions have been held for all employees to ensure common under-standing in these important areas.From Premchit Maneesarachun, TYM, Thailand

TYM management received the “TLS 8001:2003 Certificate” from theDeputy Governor of Samutprakarn province

Thai Yamaha Motor enhancesLabor Standard with TLS8001-2003

The Latin American marine distributor meeting looked to market growth

Celebrating the 10 million motorcycle production milestone at YIMM

In December 2007, Indonesia became the first of the Yamaha Motor group’s over-seas manufacturing bases to reach the grand milestone of 10 million units of totalYamaha motorcycle production. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) began motorcyclesales in Indonesia in 1971, and in 1974 PT. Yamaha Indonesia MotorManufacturing (YIMM) was established as a manufacturing base in Indonesia toincrease the local production ratio. Growth in demand in the Indonesian market ledto the founding of another manufacturing base, PT. Yamaha Motor ManufacturingWest Java (YMMWJ), in Karawang in 2004. Yamaha motorcycles in Indonesia arecurrently manufactured by these two companies. At the ceremony held at YIMM inJakarta on Dec. 6, 2007, everyone celebrated the great achievements of the 33years since the founding of YIMM. YMC’s President Kajikawa attended the ceremony

10 millionth motorcycle milestonereached in Indonesia

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In the 2007-2008 season of the top snowmobilerace competition in North America, the WSPAPower Sports Snowmobile Tour, all the Yamahariders are competing against the 2-strokes onmachines based on the 4-stroke FX Nytro. In the opening round of the series held inDuluth, Minnesota, from Nov. 23 to 25, SteveTaylor of the Yamaha Factory Snocross Teamwas in the heat of the competition during thequalifying, but machine trouble eventually kepthim from racing in the finals. Still, he wasenthusiastic about the awesome potential of thisYamaha Nytro machine that last season becamethe first 4-stroke machine ever to win a WPSArace. “This engine hauls! They have that thingworking really well and it doesn’t miss a beat.The weight isn’t too far off the 2-strokes, andthough I’m not a big guy, I don’t have troublethrowing it around,” he said after the race.Yuji Nakazawa of the Yamaha MinocquaRacing team also failed to make the finals, andCory Davis of the Yamaha Factory SnocrossTeam withdrew from the qualifying due toinjuries. In the second and third rounds of the series heldon the same weekend two months later after theholiday break in Shakopee, Minnesota, the threeriders failed to qualify for the finals again.However, Taylor was riding well, scoring aholeshot in the qualifying. Meanwhile,Nakazawa and Davis suffered bad luck such asbumps with other riders that kept them fromqualifying. Taylor’s potential finally brought results in thefourth round in West Yellowstone, Montana,where he made it to the finals for the first timethis season, and qualified for a front-row startingposition. Although he dropped one place in therace, he still finished an impressive 4th. The fin-ish put him in 14th place in the season ranking atthat point. Davis also qualified for the finals for the firsttime and ran strongly to a 13th-place finish.

“We need this confidence boost,” Taylor said after finishing an impressive 4th

Indonesia

We always welcome your contributions. Write to the editorial staff

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501 Japan,

<[email protected]>

Mexico

On November 9 and 10, 2007, representatives from ten Yamaha marinedistributors in nine Latin American countries gathered in Los Cabos at thesouthern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Presentations weremade on the Yamaha business vision for 2008 and reports were heardabout each distributor’s market conditions and business plans. All theparticipants were focused on ways to build on Yamaha’s No. 1 position inthe marine market in Latin America’s growing economies. From Takuya Nagatani, YMC

Latin American Yamahamarine distributor meeting


WPSA

Nakazawa skipped the fourth roundof the WPSA series to take on thechallenge of the World ChampionshipSnowmobile Derby in Eagle River,Wisconsin. Dating back to 1964 andnow in its 45th running, this is the racewhere snowmobiles first took theirpresent form as sporty snow-goingvehicles. His effort was rewarded as he scoredhis first victory in professional racingin the U.S., again riding the same FXNytro as in the WPSA.

About the Nytro, Taylor said:“The 4-stroke motor sounds somuch different that it just capturespeople’s imagination”

Cory missed round one with injuries but came back in round four toqualify and finish 13th

In rounds two and three Nakazawa was surprised by thecourse: “the snow so soft and deep. I’m used to packed snow inJapan”

On the rise, Taylor grabs 4th inRound 4On the rise, Taylor grabs 4th inRound 4

Thailand

As a part of the com-pany’s CSR(Corporate SocialR e s p o n s i b i l i t y )efforts, Thai YamahaMotor Co., Ltd.(TYM) enhanced itshuman rights andlabor standards byhaving its operationscertified by the LaborMinistry’s Thai LaborStandard (TLS8001-

2003). This certification marks an outstanding benchmark of achievement byTYM to meet international human rights standards and responsibility towardits personnel and society at large, and thereby minimizing operational risk andcontributing long-term to competitive edge. After TLS8001: 2003 certification,training sessions have been held for all employees to ensure common under-standing in these important areas.From Premchit Maneesarachun, TYM, Thailand

TYM management received the “TLS 8001:2003 Certificate” from theDeputy Governor of Samutprakarn province

Thai Yamaha Motor enhancesLabor Standard with TLS8001-2003

The Latin American marine distributor meeting looked to market growth

Celebrating the 10 million motorcycle production milestone at YIMM

In December 2007, Indonesia became the first of the Yamaha Motor group’s over-seas manufacturing bases to reach the grand milestone of 10 million units of totalYamaha motorcycle production. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) began motorcyclesales in Indonesia in 1971, and in 1974 PT. Yamaha Indonesia MotorManufacturing (YIMM) was established as a manufacturing base in Indonesia toincrease the local production ratio. Growth in demand in the Indonesian market ledto the founding of another manufacturing base, PT. Yamaha Motor ManufacturingWest Java (YMMWJ), in Karawang in 2004. Yamaha motorcycles in Indonesia arecurrently manufactured by these two companies. At the ceremony held at YIMM inJakarta on Dec. 6, 2007, everyone celebrated the great achievements of the 33years since the founding of YIMM. YMC’s President Kajikawa attended the ceremony

10 millionth motorcycle milestonereached in Indonesia

MexicoWith the slogan of “50,000 units in sales by2010,” Mexico’s Yamaha distributor, YamahaMotor de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (YMMEX),held its 17th Dealer Meeting on November 8,2007. A total of 130 nationwide dealers andstaff in attendance heard a speech by guestspeaker Representative Director Uchiyama ofYMC and presentations on 2007 businessresults and 2008 season policies. The unveil-ings of the new “BW’s Concept Model” and2008 models Rhino 700 and YZF-R6 broughtenthusiastic approval from the dealers.Concerning proposed improvements in theservice system, opinions were actively solicit-ed from the dealerships. From Paula Ospina, YMMEX, Mexico


YMMEX holds 17th Dealer Meeting Democratic Republic of the Congo

On December 5, 2007, aYamaha-Prodimpex CustomerMeet was held in Kinshasa,Democratic Republic of theCongo for the first time as achance to talk directly withNGOs that use various Yamahaproducts (motorcycles, out-boards, generators, etc.) in theiroperations in the region. In all,some 30 client organizationsattended and heard explanations on Yamaha products and the 3S salesand service network policy as well as past programs implemented tobenefit the communities of the region. The meeting served as a groundfor communication toward enhancing customer–Yamaha relations,where numerous questions and requests were exchanged to strengthencooperation in the future. From Shinya Kimura, OMDO, YMC

Customer meeting held forNGO clients

Thailand

Thai Yamaha Motor Co.,Ltd. (TYM) marked anoth-er significant milestone bywinning the Gold Award ofthe Marketing Associationof Thailand (MAT) for bestmarketing campaign in2007. The marketingawards are given to themost successful marketingcampaigns each year inthree ranks: Gold, Silverand Bronze. Out of 16candidate campaigns,TYM’s “Born to beDifferent” campaign for theYamaha Fino won the Gold Award for its ability to create a new market segment,for its creative communication strategy, excellent implementation and unit salesgeneration that have driven the big success of the Fino in Thailand’s market.From Premchit Maneesarachun, TYM, Thailand


130 attended YMMEX’s 17th Dealer Meeting

NGO representatives attending the customer meeting

Thai Yamaha Motor winsMarketing Award 2007

TYM top management received the Gold Award for BestMarketing Campaign

Germany

Over the two days of January 8 and 9, 2008, a Motorcycle DealerMeeting was held for the first time at Willingen, Germany, on the largestscale for a European meeting with 450 representatives from 260 dealer-ships. Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. / Yamaha Motor Middle Europe B.V.President Hayakawa introduced the new management of Yamaha MotorDeutschland GmbH (YMG) and explained the importance of the Germanmarket for Yamaha. This was followed by a presentation of YMG’s 2008business policies and action plans for achieving “Best Partner” status.Emphasis was placed on the concept that “Dealerships are demand cre-ators,” and many dealers commented on the strong impression they gotfrom the new YMG. From Hideo Ishibashi, YMG, Germany

First Motorcycle Dealer Meetingunder new YMG management

450 representatives attended one of the largest Yamaha dealer meetings ever in Europe

Thailand

On December 14, 2007, 14 CSR leaders from sevenAsian Yamaha Motor group companies and first-timeparticipant Yamaha Motor Australia Pty. Ltd. gatheredfor the 3rd CSR Meeting in Asia hosted by ThaiYamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (TYM) in Bangkok. Theagenda included reviews and presentations of thenewly undertaken 2007 CSR programs activitiyiesand presentations of the new mid-term plans starting2008. There was also active exchange of opinions onshared risk issues, evidencing the progress made inrisk management that the group companies in thepast year. From Tomoko Kakehi, CSR Planning Div., YMC

The 3rd CSR Meetingin Asia

The group CSR representatives at the meeting in Thailand

Republic of Cape Verde

On November 22, 2007, the Yamaha distributor in the West African Republic of Cape Verde,S.A.T. Lda., celebrated the opening of two new workshops in the nation’s capital, Praia. Theopening of a main workshop in the capital and a smaller shop in the fishing harbor will bring ser-vice closer to the users. The opening ceremony on the 22nd was attended by Mr. ManuelInocêncio, the Minister of State, Transport, Infrastructure, and Sea, and other distinguishedguests who expressed their approval after a tour of the facilities. From Shinya Kimura, OMDO, YMC

Opening of new workshops celebrated

In front to the strategically located workshop at Praia harbor (3rd from right is the Minister )

A TV camera crew filmsthe interior of the mainworkshop facility

The Caribbean Region

In November 2007, Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) courses were held for motorcy-cle police from the Caribbean and Atlantic island nations of St. Lucia, TrinidadTobago and the Bahamas with a total of 66 police officers attending. The officerslearned about daily bike inspection practices and improved their riding skills in a fruit-ful course that satisfied all the participants. An instructor course was also held in theBahamas, in which nine representative officers from the three countries were trainedover four days and all received YRA instructor certification. Afterwards there werecomments from the new instructors about their desires to use YRA courses to con-tribute to traffic safety. From Rika Tachimoto, OMDO, YMC

YRA held in threeCaribbean island nations At the YRA course in Trinidad Tobago

The instructor course participantsin the Bahamas

Participants in the St. Lucia course receive their completion certificates

The panel explanation of Yamaha water purifi-cation system attracted Participants’ attention

Malaysia

On January 25, Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) held an event atan Italian restaurant in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to give fans achance to meet the Yamaha MotoGP stars and also put on show the newlylaunched road model FZ150i with a high-spec fuel injected engine. The FZ150i isthe first 4-stroke 150cc fuel injected model locally assembled in Malaysia.The Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards andJames Toseland, who were in Malaysia for the Sepang test session made spe-cial appearances to add another highlight at the product presentation. From Masahiko Arika, HLYM, Malaysia

New model FZ150i unveilingand MotoGP fan event

The four 2008 Yamaha MotoGP riders made a special appearance

Vietnam

As part of its support for the new law requiring the use of helmets bymotorcycle riders that went into effect in December 15, 2007, YamahaMotor Vietnam Co., Ltd. (YMVN) cooperated with the city government ofHanoi to organize a Traffic Safety Contest for students from the city’s 39universities. After the field was narrowed down to teams from 12 univer-sities, the finals were held in front of the Opera House in central Hanoiwith live TV coverage. Joint programs of this kind between Yamaha andthe city of Hanoi are already planned for the next three years. From Daiji Matsuoka, YMVN, Vietnam


India

On January 10, the 9th Auto Expo 2008 opened in Delhi, and Yamaha mounted a prominentbooth emphasizing the brand’s advanced technology with a corner themed “The Art ofEngineering” and making a strong appeal for the new face of Yamaha in India. The new mod-els unveiled included the “YZF-R15” with its YZF-R series image, the “Gladiator Type SS/RS”and the “FZ.” With the YZF-R15 being the first full-fledged supersport model to hit the Indianmarket and the other models and displays also drawing much visitor attention, the Yamahabooth drew large and excited crowds of visitors. On the 11th, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. (YMIS) held its Dealer Conference. YMC’sPresident Kajikawa was on hand to give a keynote speech for this important first meetingunder the new YMIS management, appropriately themed “The Race Begins.” Then the newYMIS president, Tsutomu Mabuchi, outlined the new management policies and announcedthe opening of the first YMIS-managed “Yamaha Bike Station” dealership in New Delhi and

plans to open nine more of thesedealerships in 2008. The dealersgreeted the unveiling of the newmodels with resounding applausethat showed their big expectationsfor the Yamaha brand in the Indianmarket.

Corporate rebirth for Yamaha in India


The new YZF-R15 was the center of attention

The Yamaha-sponsored Traffic Safety Contest was held in front of the Opera House in central Hanoi

President Kajikawa addressing 600 participants at the Dealer Conference

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After the Auto Expo press conference, YMC’s President Kajikawa mounted the newYZF-R15. At right is YMIS President Mabuchi

The new FZ got a great response

President Kajikawa was one of thetape cutters at the opening of the first“Yamaha Bike Station” dealership inNew Delhi

Traffic Safety Contest held forcollege students in Hanoi

China

In a ceremony on January 18,Chongqing Jianshe YamahaMotor Co., Ltd. (CJYM) wasawarded the Chongqing 2007Outstanding Contribution ofCorporate Social ResponsibilityAward of the JiansheAssociation of Enterprises withForeign Investment. Present toreceive the award certificatewas the company’s VicePresident, Zhou Xiaohang. Thecompany’s CSR efforts overthe years have included dona-tions for university scholar-

ships, the Red Cross, the disabled and victims of natural disasters.This award recognizes these CSR efforts by CJYM and also reflects theexpectations for future contributions to the Chongqing community. From Yukikazu Matsushita, CJYM, China

Chongqing Jianshe Yamahareceives city’s OutstandingContribution Award

The Netherlands

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. established Yamaha MotorMiddle Europe B.V. (YMME), a new, joint-venture sales and marketing com-pany within Europe on November 28. YMME officially commence operationson January 1, 2008.YMME is now combining the strengths of Yamaha Motor and Mitsui & Co. toachieve synergistic results across a vast market covering seven Europeancountries. The new company is now working to grow business in Germanyand the UK—two of Europe's key markets—while strengthening the group'sstructure in Eastern Europe, where significant growth is forecasted.

Yamaha Motor and Mitsui &Co. establish new company inEurope

Chile

From November 12 to 17, the city of LaSerena, Chile, was the site of six days ofexciting international enduro competition onthe surrounding beaches, beautiful hills and impressive dunes, blessed withperfect weather. The La Serena ISDE Championship attracted 521 ridersfrom 30 countries, and when the competition was over, Yamaha riders hadwon all the categories. Johnny Aubert won the Championship on a YamahaWR450F and Team Yamaha-Italy won the team category, with TeamYamaha-Chile in third place (Yamaimport Riders: Nicolas Urrutia, FrancoCaimi and Cristobal Urrutia). Yamaha also won the brand championship tro-phy.From Gianfranco Mauriziano, Yamaimport, Chile

Belize

Over the two days ofNovember 6 and 7,2007, the 3rd OMDOCentral AmericanService Meeting con-vened in Belize with 22representatives fromeight Yamaha distribu-tors in seven countries.Hosted by the Belizedistributor Marelco Ltd.,the meeting was anopportunity for the dis-tributors to confirm theobjectives of the 3S-based OMDO service strategy and share reports from each distributor on2007 service activities results and 2008 plans for strengthening the servicebase. The active exchange of opinions and sharing of information made thisa very fruitful conference for all. From Shoji Motegi, OMDO, YMC

* 3S = full Sales, Service and Spare parts functions

3rd OMDO Central AmericanService Meeting held

ISDE 2007, six daysof internationalenduro

Italy

For the first time in the last 15 years,Yamaha achieved top market share forannual motorcycle sales in the Italian mar-ket in 2007. Although the 2007 market sawtough competition, Yamaha made its posi-tion unique and clear, avoiding discountingfor short-term return and investing instesd inlong-term customer satisfaction throughretail network improvement (VI, 3S), brand-ing commercials on TV and customerevents. These efforts strengthened the Yamaha brand in the market, whilesome other brands lost brand equity by discounting. Now that YamahaMotor Italia S.p.A. (YMIT) has confirmed the effectiveness of this policy,2008 is the year to further strengthen this unique Yamaha direction. From Enrico Pellegrino, YMIT, Italy

Yamaha gains No.1 marketshare in motorcycle segment

Customer events were held through-out Italy last year, attracting a total ofmore than 100,000 participants

The attending service managers from the Central AmericanYamaha distributors (from seven countries)

A newspaper ad for the six-dayenduro championship

Vice President Zhou Xiaohang was at the awardsceremony

new model. One of the answers the pro-ject members came up with was usingYamaha’s exclusive “CF Aluminum DieCasting” technology with its potential tomass produce frames with fewer partsand greater design freedom. This made itpossible to increase utility functions likestorage space while giving the TMAX anentirely new body design. Although thebody was fully re-designed in this way,the “boomerang shape” side covers thatgive the TMAX its distinctively dynamicside view were retained. The one regretthat the designers have is that their proudCF aluminum die-cast frame can’t beseen from the outside. But the fact thathiding the most important essence canoften increase its appeal is another aspectof Yamaha’s art of design.

Z O O M I N

exceptional performance that could befully enjoyed in tandem touring within aradius of several hundred kilometers ofthe major European cities plus highlyoriginal styling that added a sporty lookand feel to a commuter type body. Thisunique combination of performance, fea-tures and styling won the TMAX a popu-lar following as a new type of “automatictransmission supersport” model. Onemore characteristic that customers lovedabout the TMAX was the ease of han-dling in around-town use due to its com-pact design. And this is a primary ele-ment that Yamaha’s designers focusedon in developing the new body of the2008 TMAX. The design challenge was how to keepthis compactness while working variousnew features and components into the

Seven years after the originalTMAX burst onto the scene as anexciting new type of sports scoot-

er, Yamaha unveils the TMAX’s first fullmodel change. This 2008 TMAX (Euro-pean market model) has been developedas “the next evolution in the sporty com-muter bike.” That evolution includes anengine with re-designed intake andexhaust systems mounted on a newlydesigned aluminum frame, new 15-inchwheels front and rear plus an array ofweight-reducing design measures. All ofthis combines to give the 2008 TMAXnext-generation performance and quality.But perhaps nothing shows Yamaha’scutting-edge technology as fully as thenew styling of this model. The original TMAX was developed forthe European market as a model with

TMAXThe technologybeneath those stylishgood looks

Printed in Japanhttp://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp

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