The TVS NTORQ 150 has been making waves since its launch on September 4., but what’s the story behind this performance scooter? We sat down with Aniruddha Haldar, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Business Head of EV and Commuters at TVS Motor Company, to understand the company’s approach to building what they call a “purpose-driven” performance scooter at its follow-up unveiling in Mumbai.
Why Engine Size Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
“CC definitely should not be defining, but the performance should be defining,” Haldar tells us when asked about the industry’s obsession with displacement figures. It’s a philosophy that runs deep at TVS, and one that shaped every aspect of the NTORQ 150’s development.
Take the scooter’s distinctive front design. Those aren’t just styling elements – every curve has been carefully crafted through multiple computer simulations. “A few millimeters of radius change with these two points changes your aerodynamics dramatically,” Haldar explains, running his hand along the front fairing. “We have agonized over this to get this right.”
The winglets below the headlight aren’t there for show either. Lift them up and you’ll find an aerofoil structure designed to create downforce – the same principle used in racing cars to keep them glued to the road during high-speed cornering.
Testing That Goes Beyond the Norm
Safety features like traction control and ABS might be common in cars, but they’re still relatively new in the scooter segment. So how does TVS ensure they work when you need them most?
The answer lies in what Haldar calls “extensive testing” – and he’s not exaggerating. The company has dedicated facilities for water skim tests and wet surface simulations. They even have videos showing the difference between riding on a wet surface with and without traction control – the difference between staying in a straight line and sliding sideways.
“Every single feature is tested at a subsystem level and then tested at a package level,” Haldar explains. “If anything, I would say we are guilty of over-testing and over-engineering.”
Two Scooters, Different Purposes
With the NTORQ 150 joining the existing 125cc model, won’t TVS just end up competing with itself? Haldar doesn’t see it that way.
“There is a use case for the 125, which will remain, and then there is something that the 150 adds on top of it,” he says. The two models target different price points and performance levels, serving distinct customer needs.
Rather than cannibalization, Haldar views this as “upgradation” – customers moving up not just from the NTORQ 125, but from competitors’ products too. “The net summation of both will be much bigger than what we had earlier,” he predicts.
Creating a New Performance Category
When pressed about the company’s expectations for the 150cc segment, Haldar draws parallels with TVS’s previous success. “What NTORQ did to the segment was to actually create the sporty scooter segment. We’re trying to ensure that the 150 does that – we’re creating a high-performance sporty scooter segment.”
His logic is compelling: with 2 million people having experienced performance on the road through the NTORQ 125, “they’re not going to go back to riding an 8 Nm torque vehicle. They will want something better, which is why you need the 14 Nm torque vehicle.”
The timing seems right too. “With younger audiences and the kind of improving roads in urban centers today, they have the road infrastructure and the need for distance and speed to demand and enjoy a high-performance vehicle,” Haldar observes. “So that segment is definitely going to grow.”
Market Leadership Through Expansion
Rather than simply chasing market share, TVS’s strategy focuses on growing the entire category. “In terms of market leadership, it’s only possible if you are able to bring more and more people into the fold. And that is our role – we are going to put out vehicles which are compelling.”
Building on a Proven Legacy
Haldar takes evident pride in the NTORQ brand’s evolution. “NTORQ is a brand that we are very proud of. TVS has a long storied history of bringing in new and successful brands into the country through indigenous R&D.” He points to successful launches like the TVS Apache and TVS Jupiter as examples of the company’s track record.
“The TVS NTORQ came in seven years back. This is the upgrade – an all-new TVS NTORQ 150 with an all-new engine. The suspension has been tuned up, host of features that you’ve seen, and has been kept very compelling at ₹1,19,000,” he explains, noting that the price reflects current GST rates and “will become even more competitive” when new GST structures take effect on September 22nd.
Performance That Doesn’t Punish
Here’s the tricky part about performance scooters: making them fast without making them uncomfortable for daily use. TVS’s solution was careful suspension tuning.
“If I’d only done this for performance alone, the amount of stiffness that I would have built into my suspension would have been far more,” Haldar admits. Instead, the NTORQ 150 uses a suspension setup that’s stiffer than the 125 to handle the extra power, but still ensures comfort during longer rides without causing back pain.
It’s a balancing act that reflects how most people actually use their scooters – not just for weekend thrills, but for daily commuting too.
An All-New Engine in Familiar Clothes
While the NTORQ 150’s engine block is shared with the 125, Haldar is quick to point out that’s where the similarities end. “Every single performance part has been changed – the bore is different, the stroke is different, the crankshaft is different.”
The result is what he calls “an all-new engine of the entire family,” designed to work with the scooter’s two riding modes.
Street Mode activates start-stop technology to save fuel during city riding, while Race Mode unlocks the full potential, including access to iGO Boost – a system that provides an extra 0.7 Nm of torque on demand. Need to overtake quickly? Just press the button. The system recharges in 30 seconds, ready for the next use.
Built for the Smartphone Generation
One concern with feature-packed vehicles is complexity. Won’t new riders be overwhelmed by all the technology?
Haldar doesn’t think so, and his reasoning is generational. “The way the younger generation processes information and interacts with interfaces is very different from the way we do,” he observes, comparing it to how teenagers naturally adapt to smartphones and video games without instruction manuals.
“I get confused when I sit down to play a video game, but my sixteen-year-old takes to it like fish to water,” he laughs. TVS designed the NTORQ 150’s interface with this in mind – built for Gen Z users who are comfortable juggling multiple apps and widgets simultaneously.
When asked about potential electric versions of the NTORQ, Haldar keeps his cards close to his chest: “In the future, you could see anything. That’s the beautiful thing about the future.”