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Leading two- and three-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company, plans a ‘product offensive’ strategy and strong success story on the export front in FY23 even as it is cautiously optimistic about the growth outlook.
“The company will launch additional products, including electric vehicles with outstanding technologies,” Ralf Dieter Speth, chairman of the company, said while addressing the 30th annual general meeting (AGM) over video conference.
He said the company is confident of sustained profitable growth despite the global challenges ahead. “With considerable improvement in the urban markets of India, we are positive about the performance of the scooter segment in FY23. The scooter market will see significant demand from the students and working women and the broader replacement segment is likely to perform better in line with the opening of schools, colleges and offices,” he said.
New premium bike
The company is also gearing up to launch a new premium bike. This will generate a lot of excitement not just in India, but also in international markets, said Speth.
It expects a strong growth story on the export front this year, fuelled by growing demand for products as also due to operations in diverse geographies. The overall demand in certain countries is expected to be impacted due to high fuel and food prices, while several other markets that are agro-based and have surplus crude oil are to bring good growth.
“We have been growing in the key markets of Africa at a pace faster than the industry and we are confident of maintaining this healthy growth. The Latin American market is a further opportunity for us to expand our customer base,” he said. In FY22, the company achieved one million annual exports for the first time.
EV focus
The electric two-wheeler industry is slated to grow rapidly and TVS has robust plans for this segment. In this fiscal, the company will be launching a series of new products focusing on different customer segments. The company is developing a portfolio of two- and three-wheelers in the range of 5-25kW. PLI and FAME II initiatives of the government will fully be leveraged by the company, added Speth.
Elaborating further, Sudarshan Venu, Managing Director of TVS Motor, said the recently launched all-new iQube, electric scooter, was well-received in the market with over 15,000 bookings and the company will ramp up its presence to more cities. “In keeping with the future of electric, we expect the association with BMW to grow multifold in the coming years. TVS and BMW are also working on electric two-wheelers in the sub-15kW platform and the launch date of the vehicle will be announced at the appropriate time,” said Venu.
Global acquisitions
Explaining recent acquisitions, he said the Norton deal carried tremendous value and legacy and TVS was attempting to reinvent the brand in a modern way. After much engineering and lots of efforts by the company over 24 months, Norton has started production and will soon reach customers. Norton is also in the process of developing an electric superbike.
“Since electric bicycles will be at the forefront of urban mobility and the market is already 15 billion euros and will grow by 8 per cent every year, TVS Motor’s acquisition of Swiss companies SEMG (it is already profitable) and EGO will help capitalize on this market growth,” he stated.
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