No plans to wage price wars for EV market share: TVS Motor CEO

The company claims that it is witnessing a huge jump in volumes following the launch of TVS iQube's 2.2 kWh battery variant that is priced at Rs 95,000 (ex-showroom)

Despite stiff competition from Bajaj Auto, Ola Electric, Ather, and of late, Hero MotoCorp in the electric two-wheeler (e2W) market, TVS Motor Company will not be slashing rates to drive volumes. During an analyst call, the company's Director and CEO K.N. Radhakrishnan affirmed that it will be able to augment its e-scooter volumes on the back of existing models such as TVS iQube and X.

“We believe in not playing the discount game, but in giving value to the customer. And that strategy will always remain for us,” said Radhakrishnan.

His comments come amid a discounting spree by two-wheeler manufacturers. E2W market leader Ola Electric Mobility slashed the prices of its entry-level scooter S1X  (4 kWh) by Rs 5,000-10,000 across variants. Similarly, IPO-bound Ather Energy has announced Diwali discounts worth Rs 25,000 on its 450X and 450 Apex e-scooters, according to  dealers. Furthermore, Hero MotoCorp's Vida V1 Plus electric scooter is available with discounts of up to Rs 32,000 on e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart.

Further, Radhakrishnan said that the company is witnessing a huge jump in volumes following the launch of the 2.2 kWh battery variant of TVS iQube earlier this year, priced at Rs 95,000 (ex-showroom). “We understood that the customer segment (for a 2.2 kwh variant) is there. That is why we gave a single battery pack at a special price point,'' he said.

TVS now has three battery options — 2.2, 3.4, and 5.1 kwh. “We introduced new variants to the iQube portfolio to make electric mobility accessible for everyone,” added Radhakrishnan.

Last month, Bajaj Auto became the second highest e2W seller, at 19,128 units. The Rajiv Bajaj-led firm overtook TVS Motor Company, which sold 18,099 units (20 percent market share) in September 2024, per Vahan data.

Without sharing specifics, Radhakrishnan confirmed that another iQube variant will be launched during this financial year. He also reconfirmed that TVS will launch a new electric three-wheeler in the next few months.

Asked about enhancing the production of its e2Ws, Radhakrishnan stated, “We have enough capacity and can increase it systematically,” and added that the company's e2Ws are retailed across 750 dealerships, which also retail their ICE models like Raydon, Apache, Jupiter, etc.

Talking about exports, he said the company has started shipping small batches of iQubes to ASEAN markets.

“We believe that India will emerge as a major export hub for electric two-wheelers, and TVS will play an important role in the improvement of the EV supply chain and infrastructure. We are confident that we will continue to be a strong player in this segment,” he asserted.

On the PM E-Drive Policy recently launched by the government, he noted, “EVs will grow slow and steady. Their penetration is slowly increasing, and is already around seven percent of the overall two-wheeler market (in Q2 FY25).”

Radhakrishnan also claimed that the company had achieved its highest-ever quarterly e2W sales of 75,000 units in the September quarter. The company generated  Rs 1,600 crore from EV sales during the first half of this fiscal year.