IIPM EDITORIAL: “100cc market will always be there”

B&E: What are th

e repercussions of the Nano, since Bajaj is also keen on this segment?
VS: I don’t think we can talk about Nano at this point in time. It is better to ask this question from the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Tata and other people that make small cars. If Bajaj is doing that, they have there own strategy and I wish them all the best, but as far as TVS is concerned our focus will remain to be on two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

B&E: What is the investment for the new three-wheeler project? Will there be a commercial variant as well?
VS: We have invested about Rs.1.2 billion for a capacity of around 100,000 vehicles. A commercial version will come out in July this year and will be in the less than 1 tonne category.

B&E: What about the scooter segment? What is the time line for new models?
VS: I think gearless scooters are picking up, we have Scooty then we also have Teenz Electric (a 100% electric scooter) in that category and we will continue to add to our scooter range. On an annual basis, you can expect at least 1 new product from us.

B&E: What are the expectations from the new Flame?
VS: We want to have a 12% market share in the executive segment that comes to about 30,000 units from this product in the financial year 2008-09.

B&E: What is the future of the 100cc market? How will the other segments fare?
VS: 100cc market will always be there. About 60% of the market will continue to come from the 100cc segment. The 125cc segment will be around 30-35% of the market while the above 125cc will be close to 12%.

B&E: Do you have any plans to enter with another 150cc bikes? Will there be any new products this year?
VS: We already have the Apache in this segment, now different variants will be coming out. There will be one new platform. There will be Lightning, Flame and Flame Thunder based on it.

B&E: The Flame has been developed with the help of AVL. Will it get royalty from the sales of this bike?
VS: The engine is licensed from AVL and they have got paid up front. AVL is actually one of the largest engine manufacturers in the world; it has worked with every major engine manufacturer in the business.

B&E: Will TVS adopt the Bajaj and Yamaha strategy of Pro-biking showrooms? Please elaborate on your future investments in India.
VS: No we will not. I think we will have a fresh strategy, this is their strategy. In India we have made substantial investments in capacity. Future investments would really be in new products, tools, dyes and R&D costs.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative