TVS Motors bets on scooter segment

Kolkata, March 7 ( IANS) Automobile major TVS Motor Company is betting on the scooter segment as there has been a "movement towards the scooter segment from motorcycles" in the two wheeler market in India, an official said here on Wednesday.

"Sales growth in the scooter segment has been strong in the industry and the compound annual growth rate has been in the double digit for scooters in the last five years. There has been a movement from motorcycles to scooters. We also see strong growth in the segment," company's Vice President (Marketing), Commuter Motorcycles, Scooters and Corporate Brand, Aniruddha Haldar said.

He said scooter contributes broadly about "one-third" of the company's total two wheeler sales. Scooter sales of the company grew by 35.6 per cent to 93,573 units in February 2018 from 69,020 units sold in the year-ago month.

After launching its first 125 cc scooter -- TVS NTORQ 125 --, Haldar said, "In the overall scooter space, male segment has 70 per cent share while the rest 30 per cent is with female segment. 

"We did not have presence in the young male segment (125 cc segment) which has a 10 per cent market share. With this launch, we are entering into this young male segment which offers significant opportunity for us. We hope to become strong number two player in the scooter segment."

The company claimed the newly launched scooter is India's first bluetooth-connected scooter and it aimed at selling two lakh units of it in 2018-19.

According to Haldar, about 10 years back the scooter segment had about a 10-11 per cent share in the two wheeler market but now it has about a 35 per cent share.

He said the company is working on Research and Development (R&D) for the electric two-wheeler.

The company has reported that its two-wheelers registered a growth of 36.2 per cent with sales increasing from 206,247 units in February 2017 to 280,942 units in February 2018.

Its domestic two-wheelers recorded a growth of 33.5 per cent in sales, increasing from 172,611 units in February 2017 to 230,353 units in February 2018.

Its two-wheeler exports grew by 50.4 per cent, increasing from 33,636 units in February 2017 to 50,589 units in February 2018.