TVS Motor launches Jupiter scooter for men

Launching Jupiter, a scooter for men, two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd said it will launch a new model every quarter from now.

"Every quarter from now there will be a new bike from TVS Motor. In January we will launch Scooty Zest. We will sell 20,000 units of Jupiter by December. While the launch in north India happened today (Monday), the model will be launched in south India this November," chairman and managing director Venu Srinivasan told reporters here Monday.

At a price of Rs.44,200 ex-showroom in New Delhi, Srinivasan said the model is competitively priced.

Not agreeing that TVS Motor is a price point player with Jupiter and it would eat into the sales of company's other scooter model Wego, Srinivasan said: "We want each model to compete at the market place."

A senior company official told IANS that the on road price differential between Jupiter and Wego will be marginal.

Jupiter's price will be fixed depending on the sales of Wego in a particular market.

There are lots of common parts between Wego and Jupiter and hence the company would gain in component cost, he said.

According to Srinivasan, the company has used a 110cc engine in Jupiter (Wego also has 110cc engine) as it gives the necessary power and fuel economy.

He said the company currently sells around 35,000 scooters per month and with the addition of Jupiter, the sales number is expected to go up to 50,000 units by December end.

Srinivasan said the company will be exporting Jupiter to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey and other markets.

TVS Motor's market share in the scooter segment is around 13 percent and is expected to go to around 16 percent with Jupiter, said company president and CEO K.N.Radhakrishnan.

Interestingly TVS Motor is positioning Jupiter as a scooter for men as its other products -Scooty and Wego - are used by men and women.

"The vehicle is designed to suit men. Compared to Wego, the handle bar of Jupiter is bit away from the seat so that men feel comfortable," Vinay Harne, president (new product development) told IANS.