Swaraj Baggonkar Moneycontrol News
TVS Motor Company, the country’s fourth largest two-wheeler maker, will roll out its first electric vehicle next financial year, a top company official has confirmed.
Speaking to analysts on the sidelines of the company announcing its third quarter results K N Radhakrishnan, director and chief executive officer, said, “We will launch an electric vehicle next financial year”.
The Chennai-based company has already showcased a few fully-electric two and three-wheeler concepts at the Auto Expo. These included a high power urban scooter concept showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo.
TVS showcased a lithium-ion powered scooter called Creon that has a ride range of 80kms. It also showcased the zeppelin
The official declined to state if the company’s debut in the electric space will happen through a three-wheeler, a scooter or a bike. It has developed concepts of all the three versions.
Rival Bajaj Auto on January 21 said it will ‘soon’ launch an all-electric power-packed scooter. The Pune-based maker of Pulsars and Avengers has also promised an electric three-wheeler in 2019-20.
TVS also holds direct equity in Bengaluru-based start-up Ultraviolette Automotive, which is one of the few companies engaged in developing a high-performance electric motorcycle.
Two-wheeler market leader Hero Motocorp has made a similar investment in Ather Energy, also based in Bengaluru. The start-up commercially launched two scooters in the market last year priced over Rs 1 lakh.
Electric two-wheelers sales in India jumped 138 percent to 54,800 units last financial year as compared to 23,000 units posted in 2016-17, as per data provided by Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles.
Most of these electric scooters are powered by the low-cost lead acid technology. However several companies such as Hero Electric, which is the market leader in this space, has moved to the more expensive but very efficient lithium ion battery technology.
Further Radhakrishnan also said that the company had taken a price hike of 0.6 percent during the third quarter ended December 31 to offset the pricing pressure. There was again a hike of an average of Rs 300 on select range including Apache, Victor, Radeon and electric start moped this month.
TVS clocked a volume growth of nearly 20 percent during the December quarter to 9.89 lakh units as against 8.26 lakh units posted in the same quarter last year. As per the official the momentum is expected to be sustained in the final quarter as well.
“Finance availability is better now and sentiments are also positive. The final quarter is looking better and market is picking up”, added Radhakrishnan.
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