TVS launches 7 vehicles

Hosur, Tamil Nadu, Aug 30 (UNI) To revive the sagging two-wheeler sector, auto major TVS Motor Company today rolled out seven new vehicles, including its first three-wheeler and a new 125 cc bike for the first time in the country.

The rollout included three variants of its three-wheeler that will hit the market in October, an electric scooty, and an all new 125 cc ''Flame'', besides new variants of Star City and Apache RTR (EFI).

Company Chairman and Managing Director Venu Srinivasan told newsmen after the rollout that ''six new platforms of two wheelers will be launched in a space of 15 months, besides a new scooter by early next financial year''.

Commenting on the industry, he said the credit squeeze had tightened the money market, which is expected to ease later this year. He added that the last quarter of the current fiscal should witness the return of a booming market.

He said the negative growth witnessed during the first two quarters would vanish and hoped that the industry would maintain the same level of flat growth by January next year.

Making an entry into the limited three-wheeler segment, TVS would produce LNG, LPG and petrol versions with a combined capacity of 1,00,000 vehicles a year.

The company would produce these vehicles at a Rs 125 crore new faciltiy, next to its main factory here.

Mr Srinivasan said that over the next four years, the company aims to export half a million two-wheelers from the current level of around 1,30,000 vehicles. This was apart from the production at its Indonesian plant, which went on stream recently.

The company also aims to invest an additional Rs 200 crore in the Indonesian plant over the next two years.

He said the company had, over the last three years, invested around Rs 700 crore on expanding its facilities and on research and development (R&D).

The R&D investment was around Rs 30 crore a year and it would continue to be at three per cent of its turnover, Mr Srinivasan added.

Mr Srinivasan said the company was keen on promoting future technologies taking into account the stringent environmental and emission norms.

Mr Srinivasan said the company also plans to roll out the CNG version of its two-wheelers in about six months, besides launching hybrid vehicles adding that the said version would be limited to 100 and 125 cc motorcycles.

UNI