TVS Apache

Production innovation that is done TVS TVS Apache, a motorcycle with a 4 not 150 cc engine with 5 speed transmission system

TVS Motor, the flagship company of the $4-billion TVS Group, will launch its premium 160cc bike Apache RTR in the US this year, the
world’s most developed automobile market this year, said a top company executive. If TVS Motors enters the US, it will be the second indigenous company to foray into that market, the first being Royal Enfield bike. Another Indian company, utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra also plans to introduce its flagship Scorpio SUV in the US next year.

The Chennai-based two-wheeler company has cleared the mandatory technical and emission tests for its bike and plans to launch it later this year.

TVS Motor president (marketing & sales) HS Goindi told ET: “We are in the launching mode, and finalising our entry into the US market. Our bike has met all stringent technical norms in the US and we have also appointed distributor to sell our products in the market.” The company will launch our advanced fuel injection Apache in the US. We have tweaked the product we already sell in India with some minor changes to meet the US automotive standards.”

According to an auto industry executive, TVS has held negotiations with Classic Motorworks, an importer and distributor of two-wheeler in the US, which already distributes Royal Enfield Motorcycle — Bullet, Classic and Croma — brands in the US.

A senior company official confirmed that Minnesota-based Classic Motorworks has shown interest in selling TVS bikes, as commuter mode of transport to feed the lower-end of the two-wheeler market.

The company will start shipping bikes in the next few months. TVS is not expecting big volumes, but looking at high brand leverage in the US, a predominant high-end big bike market like the Triumph, Harley Davidson, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.

“America is a small market for two-wheelers with a few lakh units being sold every year and even that is being cornered by bigger bikes. We are expecting to sell a few thousand bikes in the first year, but these will boost our bottomlines, as profit margins are much higher in the overseas markets. Once we establish our brand, we will market more products from the TVS stable in the next few years,” added Mr Goindi.

TVS Motors has presence in a few overseas markets, including a 300,000-units a year manufacturing facility in Indonesia, and also sells its bikes, scooters and mopeds in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa. The US is amongst the top 10 two-wheeler markets in the world with China is the largest followed by India, with over 70 lakh two-wheelers sold every year.