TVS Motor Co, which plugged into the electric two-wheeler industry in January 2020 with its iQube e-scooter and is currently the second-ranked OEM in India market sales, is set to reveal its second electric scooter today in Dubai, at 9.30pm IST. The choice of a global hub as the venue for the new product unveiling offers a cue to the likelihood of the new TVS EV being a premium product with export potential.
From a series of teasers the company has released on its social media handles since August 10, it looks like TVS’ rakish and radical new EV will have little in common with the existing iQube.
Given the upward consumer movement towards premium products (both ICE and EV) in the Indian two-wheeler market, it is likely that the new TVS e-scooter will be majorly different to what is currently available in India, to both differentiate the product from the competition and also to appeal to a global audience.
TVS’ new EV seems to have a rakish front profile.
TVS Motor Co’s teaser commentary says that its newest product “is designed to shatter limits, reset benchmarks and disrupt the status quo of electric mobility”. Or that ‘Thrill has a date’, which is a hint that the new eco-friendly machine is likely to be a performance-oriented product. The new TVS EV could have a top eco-friendly whack of 105kph, given the visual teaser with the speed emblazoned on the dash.
Upping the ante in EVs
TVS Motor Co, which is currently the second-best-selling EV OEM in India after Ola Electric, aims to up the ante in the segment. The Chennai-based manufacturer has sold a total of 87,397 iQubes in the first seven months of CY2023, which works out to monthly average sales of 12,485 units.
TVS is also accelerating its collaboration with BMW Motorrad. In December 2021, the two OEMs had announced plans to extend and expand their long-term partnership for the joint development of new platforms and future technologies, including EVs. The second jointly developed platform (after the 310 bikes) to spawn from this partnership is for the recently revealed BMW CE 02 electric two-wheeler. What’s noteworthy is that TVS Motor Co has designed, developed and built the CE 02 platform.
Expect TVS Motor Co to also plan the rollout of an electric motorcycle in the near future, with the brand extension likely to happen on its performance TVS Apache platform. As is known, TVS has an equity stake in the Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt Ltd, which manufactures the high-performance F77 electric motorcycle.
Betting big on exports
TVS is already India’s No. 2 two-wheeler exporter after Bajaj Auto. In FY2023, the company shipped a total of 915,018 two-wheelers overseas despite depressed export market conditions. In the first four months of FY2024, TVS’ exports have totalled 270,084 units.
Given that a number of countries, including the ASEAN which has a massive two-wheeler parc, are making the transition to electric mobility, TVS will be looking at EV exports as a new business opportunity.
In February 2023, in a strategic move to expand its global EV footprint, TVS announced its association with Singapore-based tech company Ion Mobility with an aim to provide Ion the necessary ecosystem support to be successful in the electric two-wheeler markets of Singapore and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the company’s electric vehicle journey is soon to also expand to three-wheelers, a segment which is also seeing strong growth in India, but that calls for an altogether different report.
Stay plugged in for the latest updates on the new TVS EV reveal.
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