The company is all set to launch 625 KA model invertor later this month in the Delhi market, said Birla Yamaha deputy general manager (marketing) Ajai Srivastava.

The company will use part of its 350-strong dealer network to service the product. However, it is open to appointing new dealers exclusively for inverters, said company officials.

Targeted at urban households, price of the model will be pegged between Rs 8,000 and Rs 9,000 (excluding the battery), officials said.

The inverter market is dominated by the unorganised sector. Videocoon is the only organised player in the market.

However, officials at Birla Yamaha maintain that the company will make a low profile entry into the market and will spread to other citiesgradually.In another major effort to boost domestic sales of generator sets, the company plans to offer a four-year warranty to customers, as against the existing industry norm of one-year, for purchases during the World Cup.The special scheme will start from April 25 and run through out the cricket event, ending with the final on May 20, 1999.

The scheme will drive home the point to customers that the company hasfaith on the quality of its products and is willing to stand by them for four years, said Birla Yamaha vice president (marketing and sales) S K Ahuja.The scheme will be backed by an aggresive advertising campaign, said Ahuja.The marketing push in the domestic sector assumes added significance in light of poor performance of the company on the export front in the last few months.

Birla Yamaha will soon be commissioning its second production facility at Poanta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. The new facility was set up with investments in the region of Rs 5 crore, said company officials.

The companyclaims to have 40 per cent market share of the gen set industry with Sriram Hondo being the market leader.

Birla Yamaha is joint venture betwen Rs 800 crore business house of Yashowardhan Birla and Yamaha Motors of Japan. Birlas have 33 per cent stake in the venture with Yamaha holding 28 per cent stake. 24 per cent stake is held publicly while the remaining is with domestic and foreign financial institution.