Posts Tagged ‘TVS’

War between Indian and Chinese bike makers to rage on

indian bike companies versus chinese bike companies

Competition between Indian bike manufacturers and new foreign players is heating up in the Indian market as well as international arena.

Chinese bike manufacturers are looking to enter the lucrative Indian two-wheeler market and compete with home grown majors like Bajaj, Hero Honda and TVS. The Chinese with their extreme cost cutting strategies can offer competitive products at cut-throat prices.

Would this be a cause of concern to the Indian bike makers? Market analysts say no. They think that the Chinese manufacturers can’t give quality products and the Indian bike market, unlike the car market is quite quality sensitive and and native bike maker needn’t have worries about the advent of Chinese bike majors.

Baja Motorcycles recently got a Chinese patent for its ExhausTec technology. Also Bajaj had setup a bike manufacturing unit in China is said to be manufacturing low cost bikes with almost 100% localization. These low cost bikes have been branded ‘Boxer’ and Bajaj is selling these bikes in Africa and Latin Americas. Nigeria is one of the biggest markets in Africa for Bajaj.

Indian bike makers can’t produce low cost bikes that compromises on quality and this the reason why Chinese manufacturers who sell low quality bikes at dirt cheap prices in all developing markets overtake Indian companies and hold more than 70% market share in the low cost bikes segment all over the world.

With TVS planning exports to Latin America and Africa and Bajaj already playing in the international arena, it would be interesting to see how Indian bike manufacturers tackle their Chinese competitors in price sensitive developing markets.

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Entry posted on July 1st, 2010 and filed under Bajaj, TVS

TVS to enter Argentina and Mexico to boost exports

TVS Apache RTR 180

TVS Motor Company has plans to enter the two-wheeler markets of Argentina and Mexico in order to give a boost to its export figures. TVS will be launching two of its flagship brands, namely Star and Apache into the Argentinean and Mexican two-wheeler markets in order to gain a foothold in these markets.

H.S Goindi, President, Sales, Service and Marketing, TVS Motor Company -

We see tremendous opportunity for growth in exports in these countries. The growth rate is higher primarily because during the same time last year there was a recession hitting these countries and hence the sales were lower and the primary sales from India were even lower. So, that is the reason for the growth rate

The company expects its exports to contribute 25% of its total sales over the next 4-5 years from the current levels of 14-15%. The company also aims to have an 18-20% market share in all of its export markets from the current level of 10%. In order to be able to cater to the demands of the future, the company will be investing Rs. 150-180 crore over the period of the next one year to boost capacity at its manufacturing facilities in Hosur and Mysore.

TVS Motor Company already has a presence in markets of the SAARC countries, and recently showcased its Apache RTR 180 motorcycle and Qube 2.0 concept scooter at the ongoing business fair in Indonesia. The company is also gearing up to unleash its products into the markets of Columbia and Bangladesh over the next couple of years.

Its appears as if TVS has big plans going into the future and by spreading its wings into the various two-wheeler markets of the world, it will definitely become one of the major players in the worldwide two-wheeler space. The company also has big plans for its Indian operations as well, with the launch of exciting products such as the RTR 180 ABS and Scooty Streak Hybrid in the near future.

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Entry posted on June 23rd, 2010 and filed under TVS

TVS electric vehicle plans not halted

Scooty TeenzScooty Teenz

TVS has not taken any decision to permanently halt its Electric Vehicle (EV) plans. Media reports claimed that TVS had shelved its future Electric Vehicle plans and had also stopped the production of its one-and-only electric offering, the Scooty Teenz Electric.

H.S Goindi, President, Sales, Service and Marketing, TVS to WheelsUnplugged -

The report is not true. We have not shelved our plans. It’s very much on track. It’s just that we are not going the whole hog and instead watching the market carefully

H.S Goindi, President, Sales, Service and Marketing, TVS to PTI -

We have an electric three-wheeler, which we had planned to introduce but there is no market for such products. So we don’t have any plans to launch it now. The market is not good for electric two-wheelers. So we are concentrating on our regular scooters and motorcycles

IMB had earlier reported about TVS having temporarily stopped the production of its TVS Scooty Teenz Electric scooter due to issues with the vehicle’s battery. But, TVS had never said that they have completely shelved their future EV plans. This report further affirms the previous statement and keeps alive hopes of exciting products such as the TVS Scooty Streak hybrid from TVS in the near future.

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Entry posted on June 23rd, 2010 and filed under TVS

IMB Exclusive – No TVS 180+ cc bike in 2010

TVS Apache 250 Rendering

TVS Motor Company has no plans for a bike in the 180+cc category, during this year. In a chat with IMB, Mr. H.S Goindi, Head of Sales, Service and Marketing at TVS Motor Company Said that

Currently a bike with a displacement of up to 180cc makes good business sense for us and we do not have plans for any higher displacement bikes during this year. We will however, consider stepping into the higher displacement bikes segment, when we feel that the market is ready for such a product.

This statement from Mr. Goindi effectively rules out any hopes one had from TVS of a 200+cc offering in the market. But, it is not as if the company will never offer a higher displacement bike in the market. Though Mr.Goindi rules out a high displacement bike for 2010, he hasn’t said that the company is working on higher displacement bikes.

Could we see a 200+ cc Apache by the same time next year?

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Entry posted on June 16th, 2010 and filed under TVS

TVS concept motorcycle by Cardozo derived from headset!

Designer Aaron Cardozo during his internship at TVS Motors’ design studio, created a concept motorcycle that seats one. That might not sound fascinating. What will is his source of inspiration – A Sennheiser VMX 100 Bluetooth headset!

Aaron has designed this motorcycle for the customer in his 20s, seeking a purchase that is unique and fashionable.

The sketches speak for themselves. TVS should plonk one such single-seater in their lineup to add a dash of color to their portfolio. After all India isn’t a market that not open to customized motorbikes.

A single seater is not practical in our country, but TVS could always make it in limited numbers and use it to build its brand image. The Apache RTR 160 platform could serve as a starting point for such an ambitious project.

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Entry posted on February 3rd, 2010 and filed under TVS
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