TVS while achieving a good growth in motorcycle sales has recorded
negative growth in scooter sales for July 2016. What was the reason for this,
especially when the scooter segment is showing a positive growth and you have a
strong product in the Jupiter?
The scooter segment has
performed consistently well for us and we have a 14 percent market share in
scooters and we sell 65,000 scooters every month. We intend to grow our market
share in the scooter segment to 16-17 percent. Jupiter is our flagship product
and the new MillionR edition that we recently launched with 10 new features has
been received well in the market.
We believe the scooter
industry is poised to expand and with a wide product portfolio that we have, we
will be able to cater to a wide range of consumers with products designed to
meet their needs.
How would you describe the performance in terms of sales of your
motorcycle brands led by Apache?
The motorcycle segment has
witnessed good growth and we have received a very good response for the
products we launched this year - TVS Victor and TVS Apache RTR 200. TVS Apache
market share is currently 17% and is expected to grow to 22% in the premium
segment. Our market share is growing in
all the segments we are present in and we expect the sales to peak during the
upcoming festive season. Also with expectations of a good monsoon this year,
the rural economy will be benefited leading to higher motorcycle sales.
Overall, do you see the Indian two wheeler market moving away from the
commuter segment into a much more value added segment...more premium in nature?
In a country like India, we
need to cater to demands of consumers across segments. Our customer inspired
engineering approach has enabled us to introduce a complete product portfolio
that straddles across the economy, executive and premium segments of the two
wheeler market. We believe that all segments will grow with increasing
purchasing power with people, this includes the commuter as well as the premium
segment.
From a consumer standpoint,
gone are the days, when two-wheelers were perceived just as a sign of mobility.
Two –wheelers have historically been designed to provide safe, efficient and
comfortable rides from point A to point B. Today, the two-wheelers have become
a symbol of status; excitement and pride, while continuing to serve their
original purpose. Overall, the future of two-wheeler industry in India for both motorcycles and scooters
looks extremely exciting and promising. But generally speaking yes; we see the
market upgrading gradually.
You have a tie up with BMW for
bikes below 500cc. What’s the progress on this project for both the Indian as
well as the global markets?
The project is progressing as
per planned schedule and we plan to launch our first 310 cc motorcycle,
developed under the common platform with BMW, before the end of this fiscal.
Even though both the companies will be using the same platform, each one of us
will have our own approach to design and development of the products in line
with our focused strategy and targeted markets.
TVS has apparently become aggressive on the motorsport arena. Is it a
conscientious move to spread the TVS brand awareness among the youngsters and a
bid to promote motorsports related activities among Indians?
TVS Racing is strongly
committed to promote two-wheeler racing in India and generate interest and
boost support for the sport in India. We have been making continuous efforts to
take the sport to as many sections of the society as possible for the past 33
years. TVS Racing has been actively participating on and off- road racing
events such as road racing, Super-cross and Motocross, Dirt Tracks, Rally etc.
We have won eight championships across all forms of two-wheeler motorsport
events - Supercross, Rallies and Road racing last year.
Earlier this year TVS Racing
announced that their champion rider Aravind KP will represent TVS Racing in
Dakar 2017. This is the third
consecutive year that Sherco-TVS team will be participating in the 39th edition
of Dakar Rally (January 2, 2017 – January 14, 2017). The team also took a historic step when they
signed their first woman rally rider – Shreya Sunder Iyer - to race for their
team. TVS Racing also added another feather in their cap by announcing an
exclusive collaboration with the new Alisha Abdullah Racing Academy for Women–
India’s first training school for women racers. They will support the academy
with the racing bikes and technical expertise. The academy has shortlisted 18
women riders who will race exclusively for TVS Racing Team in the first year.
What we learn from the
racetrack through TVS Racing, we look to build in our Apache RTR motorcycle
series making it extremely popular among racing buffs across the country. We
are continuously working on improving and refining our motorcycles and this
partnership provides an opportunity to develop new technologies that can be
adapted for future TVS Apache RTR series motorcycles. The 2016 RTR 450 Racing
model is the result of accumulated experience in rally racing and the huge
development work done by the engineers.
With monsoons being normal this year, does it bode well for the 2
wheeler segment? Do you see record sales this fiscal 2017?
We believe a good monsoon this
year will trigger demand from the rural segment which in turn will benefit the
two-wheeler industry. We are systematically investing in brands to attain the
desired market share. Our immediate focus is to improve our market share and
grow consistently.