TVS Motor Co, which has a long-standing strategic partnership with BMW Motorrad, has kicked off exports of the BMW CE 02 electric scooter. TVS began manufacturing the jointly-developed CE 02 in October 2023.
As per electric two-wheeler export wholesales data released by SIAM for FY2024, TVS shipped a total of 1,173 EVs overseas last fiscal. Between April 2023 and end-February 2024, the EV export total was 249 units, comprising iQube electric scooters.
TVS Motor Co's March 2024 exports comprise 924 units of a product listed as a ‘BMW EV’. It can be surmised that this product is the BMW CE 02 EV, whose platform has been jointly designed, developed and built by TVS and BMW Motorrad. This is the second jointly developed platform after the 310 series, which has spawned the BMW G 310 R, 310 GS and G310 RR, along with TVS’ flagship motorcycles, the Apache RR 310 and Apache RTR 310.
The BMW CE 02's motor develops 15hp, while its battery has a claimed range of 90 km on single charge. The e-scooter weighs 132kg and has a claimed top speed of 95kph. Underpinnings are fairly simple, with a double-loop steel tubular frame cradling the twin battery packs, suspended by a USD fork/monoshock setup. The BMW CE 02 uses a 296mm front disc, clamped down upon by a single-piston caliper and it only gets single-channel ABS. While the equipment is fairly basic, the CE 02 does get a single-sided swingarm and sends power to the rear wheel via a belt drive.
The CE 02 has a decent features list, comprising keyless ignition, all-LED lighting, a reverse gear and a 3.5-inch TFT dash with Bluetooth connectivity. Also standard are two riding modes – Surf and Flow. Optioning the CE 02 with the optional Highline accessory pack brings in a third, even quicker Flash riding mode, along with a special colour scheme, heated grips and a phone mount.
What community is saying on the IQube?
TVS exported 249 iQubes to Nepal in FY2024
Other than the 924 CE 02 EVs exported, TVS Motor Co has also shipped 249 units of its all-electric iQube scooter to Nepal, where it sells the zero-emission product through its authorised distributor Jagdamba Motors.
The TVS iQube scooter is witnessing strong demand in India and cumulative sales since the product's launch in January 2020 have surpassed 3 lakh units. Of the record 9,44,000-plus electric two-wheelers retailed in India in FY2024, TVS sold 1,82,933 iQubes, registering sterling 125 percent YoY growth (FY2023: 82,108 units), giving it a retail market share of 19.37 percent, up from the 11.27 percent share it had in FY2023.
Upping the ante on exports
TVS, which is India's second largest two-wheeler exporter after Bajaj Auto, shipped 8,87,774 units to overseas markets in FY2024. Exports comprised 22 percent of its combined domestic market and export sales of 4 million units in FY2024. TVS Motor products are already sold in over 80 countries in key markets across Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the past six months, the company has strategically entered new markets like Nepal, Vietnam, and France.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Stephen Raj Antony
