Three years after launching its first product, the TVS Motor Company - BMW alliance - is gearing up to launch its fourth offering in the premium segment in 2021, a top company official has said.
The new bike will be based on the same vehicle platform that was built by the alliance of TVS Motor Company and BMW. This alliance has already spun off two motorcycles for BMW which the German brand sells through its Motorrad line of showrooms not just in India but in 90 countries, including the US and European markets.
Speaking to analysts K. N. Radhakrishnan, President, CEO & Additional Whole-Time Director - TVS Motor Company, said, “With respect to BMW, I think they are extremely happy. The two products are doing extremely well. We have launched our one version (RR310) on that platform, the new one with BS-VI engine was recently launched. And we, possibly next year, will have one more variant of that from TVS Motor Company.”
“So this is something the new product and upgrade is something we have to constantly look at opportunities and constantly delight the customer, and we will invest behind that,” added Radhakrishnan.
Priced at Rs 2.28 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and sold through a limited network of showrooms, the Apache RR 310 clocked an average of almost 250 units a month during 2019. This is TVS’s most expensive and powerful bike till date besides being the Chennai-based company’s maiden experiment in the fully-faired category of race bikes.
The Indo-German alliance was formed before the middle of 2013 with the primary objective to target the mid-capacity bike buyers. Since the smallest bike on offer by BMW in India was the F750 GS the company felt the need to have an even small displacement bike to tap into the budget buyer.
The design and development of the BMW bikes, G 310 R and G 310 GS, was done majorly by BMW while the task of producing them was in the hands of TVS at its factory in Tamil Nadu. BMW is exploring other segments where it can offer a similar value proposition but those plans are not fully concrete yet.
TVS’s rival Bajaj Auto has two similar alliances for producing mid-capacity bikes. Bajaj’s partnership with Austrian bike brand KTM produces street and performance bikes under the RC, Duke and Husqvarna brands having up to 400cc engines. Bajaj has also signed an agreement with UK’s Triumph Motorcycles for a similar engine capacity range of bikes.
In December TVS Motor Company said it had crossed 50,000 production-milestone for the two BMW bikes in less than two years of starting production at its Hosur-located plant.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
