TVS Motor Company will roll out hybrid and electric two-wheelers over the next few months.

The company’s first hybrid two-wheeler, which will run on a combination of a petrol engine and an electric motor, is expected to hit the market by December while an electric vehicle will be rolled out by February or March 2018, said Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting here. TVS Motor has been working on hybrid and electric technologies for several years now.

By 2020, a fifth of the two-wheeler market will comprise electric vehicles, Srinivasan forecast. “Lithium-ion batteries are still a challenge because of the availability. But the falling cost of batteries will favour adoption of hybrid and EVs,” he said.

Technologies that may result in batteries cheaper than lithium are also being developed, the TVS chief said. “We are working with multiple agencies and we will have to commit investments in multiple technologies.”

The lack of charging infrastructure is still a concern, but things are improving.

Srinivasan said that rapidly improving technology and the strong commitment by the government would propel hybrid and electric vehicles into the mainstream.

Q1 net up 7%

TVS Motor Company registered a 7 per cent rise in net profit, at ₹129 crore for the quarter ended June 30. Total revenue grew 19 per cent at ₹3,800 crore.

A provision of ₹16.50 crore towards additional discount offered to dealers for pre-GST stocks held on June 30, 2017 for selling vehicles at revised prices impacted the bottomline. There were pressures on raw material costs during the quarter, said SG Murali, Chief Financial Officer.

Due to GST implementation, the price reduction was in the range of ₹350 to ₹1,500 in the commuter segment, while in the premium segment, prices were reduced up to ₹4,150 depending on State-level taxes pre GST.

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