Hosur-based TVS Motor Co, is looking to expand its reach in the Indian motorcycle market and, currently, its premium offerings include its flagship Apache RR 310 and the neo-retro Ronin.
New 225cc-350cc TVS product: what could it be?
"In India, we are somewhat stuck between the 150cc and 200cc segments, and then there is a long jump to the 350cc segment of motorcycles," said Vimal Sumbly, premium business head of TVS Motor Company, to our sister publication Autocar Professional. "There is a huge void in between and that is what we want to address. We want to mitigate this problem and capture the market."
"It is going to be a very exciting space and there are going to be exciting products coming out from TVS," he added, albeit without revealing any specific timelines. "We are a very customer-centric organisation, and what one could also expect is our growing connection with customers by the virtue of events such as 'MotoSoul'. Motorsport is a great opportunity in India and there is lots going to come from our side," Sumbly said.
Last week, TVS held the second edition of the TVS MotoSoul biking festival in Goa. The two-day event saw the unveiling of four one-off custom bikes based on the Ronin platform. Arguably, the most eye-catching of them all was TVS’ Ronin SCR, and you can read more about it here.
There have also been rumours of a naked Apache RTR 310 (based off the faired RR 310) swirling around for quite some time now, and this could potentially be one of the first new bikes to join TVS’ lineup in this segment.
Brand transformation, expansion of premium outlets
As part of its premiumisation strategy, the company is setting up premium bike zones at its existing showrooms, and it aims to have 500 such touchpoints ready across India by mid-April 2023.
"The objective is to give a better customer experience – not just at the front, but at the back end (after sales services) as well so that consumers can really be wowed by our premium offerings as well as the retail experience. There is going to be dedicated manpower who will handle the premium motorcycle customers, who are more interested in getting to understand the technical nuances of the motorcycle. Over a period of time, we will see a transition towards a completely different experience at our showrooms," Sumbly said.
The company says that its objective is to redefine the premium segment by giving its customers differentiated experience, ensuring test rides as well as spare parts availability. "While we have known the commuter motorcycle segment for so many years, this is something which is new, and therefore, we want to put an extra focus," Sumbly added.
Would you consider purchasing a premium TVS product over other offerings in the market? Let us know in the comments section below.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
