TVS Motors’ brand ambassador is Virat Kohli

TVS Motor Company has roped in Indian cricket star Virat Kohli as brand ambassador for its sports range of motorcycles.

“TVS Motor Company has signed on one of India’s brightest and most promising cricketing talents, Virat Kohli, as brand ambassador for its all new TVS Sport motorcycle. Kohli will feature on all advertising and retail material related to TVS Sport,” the Chennai-based TVS Motor Company said in a statement.

“Virat is a perfect fit to the brand. Both are about youth, have bountiful energy, vigour, go-getter attitude and a high degree of flamboyancy. We are confident that this new association will work wonders for the brand,” the TVS Motor Company Marketing-President, Mr H.S. Goindi, said.

The motorcycle manufactured at the company’s Hosur plant boasts new features including dual tone colours. With a LED tail lamp cluster, the bike is equipped with an electric start and an all black handle bar. The bike is priced at Rs 38,600 (ex-showroom Delhi).

On his appointment as brand ambassador, Kohli said: “I am excited about this development and look forward to being part of the brand’s successful growth.’’

Bigger capacity TVS Apache RTR220/250 not occuring in 2011!

Analyzing the words of TVS Motor Limited’s President-Marketing, HS Goindi, speaking to BusinessStandard here is somethingthat Apache RTR fans wouldn’t like to hear. First of all, Mr Goindi says this,

“We are working on two products. It would take us another eight to nine months to launch these motorcycles commercially in the market”.

Now, what that means is TVS Motors isn’t launching any motorcycle in 2011. That effectively puts paid to all the rumors circulating about the larger capacity TVS Apache RTR220 hitting Indian roads in 2011.

This theory further gains credence by the fact that TVS usually does not launch more than once product each year in each segment and the RTR series of motorcycles’ various installments are testament to this.

Having just unveiled the 2011 TVS Apache RTR180 ABS, TVS Motors wouldn’t be in a tearing hurry to launch a bigger Apache in 2011 as servicing the demand for the RTR180 ABS and analyzing the market feedback of the first ABS equipped motorcycle in the country should keep TVS pretty occupied.

Coming back to the higher capacity Apache, which has for long, been due from the TVS stables, fuel injection and ABS technology could most probably make it to the 200cc plus Apache  when it does get launched sometime post 2011.

We hope that TVS Motors brings out it’s 200cc plus Apache RTR at the earliest as the segment is just hotting up with the likes of Honda and Mahindra all set to launch 250cc premium sports motorcycles in the Indian motorcycle market.

TVS aims in launching India’s cheapest motorcycle

The country’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motors, is mulling a low-priced motorcycle to shore up volumes in the Indian market. The product, when introduced, would be the cheapest motorcycle in the country.

TVS Motors, which currently manufactures mopeds, scooters and motorcycles for the domestic market, is considering a new product to bridge the price gap between the company’s range of mopeds and motorcycles.

“There is room for introducing one more product at the lower end of the motorcycle segment. Our cheapest motorcycle comes for Rs 36,000 while the most expensive moped is tagged Rs 25,000. There might be a new product positioned in this range,” said H S Goindi, president (marketing).

He, however, admitted it would be a challenge to make a profitable product in the segment at such aggressive price points. “The Indian market is demanding, the quality of motorcycles on offer here is very high in terms of finish, engine performance, styling and fuel efficiency. The challenge would be to offer good features at competitive price points,” he said.

Industry experts note the 100-110cc segment account for 60 per cent of the nine million motorcycles sold every year and is the mainstay of companies like Hero Honda and TVS Motors. To launch inexpensive products in the category is, therefore, critical for two-wheeler companies in the country.

Honda Motor Corporation (HMC), which too is working on a low-cost bike priced at around $ 600 for sale in emerging economies, has decided against introducing the product in the Indian market. Shinji Aoyama, president and chief executive officer, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) had earlier said, “The low-cost bike is not suited for the current requirements in the market here. At present, we are not considering launching the product in India.”

The motorcycle is being developed at the company’s research and development centre in China, mainly for markets in Africa.

TVS Motors, at present, is working on developing two new motorcycles which are likely to hit the Indian roads in the course of 2011-12. Goindi informed, “We are working on two products. It would take us another eight to nine months to launch these motorcycles commercially in the market.” He, however, declined to share details about the segments which the products would be launched in.

Additionally, the company is also firming plans to re-launch products in the electric scooters segment. TVS Motors has developed an electric variant of Scooty Teenz and a new scooter, which are being tested in 50 towns across the country.

Depending on the feedback received a commercial launch would be made in the coming financial year.

TVS Motors, which is the third largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the country, has sold 1.6 million units in the domestic market between April and February this financial year, registering a growth of 31 per cent as compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

TVS to introduce variant of Apache RTR 180 with ABS soon

TVS Motors will soon launch a variant of its Apache RTR 180 with ABS. This is the first time that 'A made in India' bike will feature the technology. CNBC-TV18's Overdrive team went to Chennai to check it out.

If it wasn't for the tiny ABS sticker on the side you wouldn't know the Apache RTR 180 was any different. A closer look will reveal the sensors and ECU but the proof of this pudding is in the eating or should we say testing.

A test rig is in place that stops the bike from falling over from people getting hurt during the tuning phase of the ABS. There are long technical explanations for how and why ABS operates.

Simply put, the ABS computer monitors both wheels for rotation and when it detects a wheel about to lock, it can release and build pressure accordingly. It sounds simple but it isn't until you try panic braking on slippery surfaces with ABS off, that the need for and utility of the system sinks in.

The ABS equipped Apache should hit showrooms in the next few weeks and we expect it to cost between Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 more than the stock RTR 180.

TVS Motors shows 24% growth in Feb 2011

Mumbai, Mar 1: One of the leading bike manufactures in India, TVS Motors has marked 24 per cent growth in the month of Feb 2011 strong contributions from scooters, buoyant exports and domestic sales.

In Feb 2011, TVS Motors sold 177,412 units against 142,676 units sale in the month of 2010. The company’s cumulative sales for the period April 2010 to February 2011 stood at 1,855,460 units. During Feb 2011, company clocked highest ever exports and 3 wheeler sales.

In the two wheeler segment, TVS recorded a growth of 23 per cent with sales of 173,200 units in Feb 2011 against 140,544 units reported in Feb 2010. Cumulative two wheeler sales for the period Apr 2010 to Feb 2011 increased by 32 per cent with sales of 1,820,027 units over 1,375,176 units in Apr to Feb 2010. Te domestic sales of two wheelers also increased by 25 percent in the same period.

Scooter sales continued to impress growing by 49 per cent with sales of 40,335 units as against 27,017 units recorded in Feb 2010. Motorcycles grew by 13 per cent growth accounting for sales of 71,462 units in Feb 2011 as against 63,394 units in Feb 2010.

Three wheeler sales of the TVS Motors touched a new high in Feb 2011with sales of 4,212 units of three wheelers against 2,132 units sold in Feb 2010.