TVS Motor to launch products every qtr in FY15

Riding on the back of a 15.41 per cent increase in sales last month, two and three wheeler major TVS Motor has undertaken a strategy by which it will launch new products every quarter this fiscal.
TVS plans to introduce an upgraded variant of its popular scooterette Scooty Zest, relaunch Victor motorcycle with an upgraded engine range and a new variant in high-end Apache this year, TVS Motor Company Chairman Venu Srinivasan said.
"We had (125cc motorcycle) Phoenix, then we had the (scooterette) Jupiter. Now we have Star City+. In this segment we were largely absent. We need to be a large player in the market. This is the first of two launches (in motorcycles) that will take place this year. In four months, we will have (motorcycle) Victor," he told reporters here after launching an upgraded variant of 110cc StaR City, the 'Star City+ here.

TVS Motor Company reported a 15.41 per cent increase in total sales at 1,90,683 units in April 2014. It sold 1,65,214 units in the same month last year.
On future product launches, Srinivasan said, "We will be launching products every quarter (this financial year). We will be launching Scooty Zest next month, then we will have the (motorcycle) Victor and last quarter of this year we will be launching a new (upgraded) Apache".
TVS Motor Company now offers Star City,Sport in the entry level segment, 125cc Phoenix and high end Apache RTR series.

It also sells scooterettes -- Jupiter, Wego, Scooty Streak and Scooty Pep+. In the moped range, it sells TVS XL Super, XL Heavy duty and autorickshaw TVS King.

Srinivasan said there are 4.5 million Star City owners and the new variant offers rich features, including the eco-thrust engine similar to TVS Phoenix model.
The top end StaR City is available at Rs 44,000 (ex-showroom New Delhi), he said.
TVS also hopes to grab a larger share in the mass motorcycle segment with StaR City+ as it sells about 35,000 units in the 110cc segment compared to the industry size of 5.95 lakh units. "We want to reach about 60,000 units in six months and then it (StaR City) will be a significant player in this segment", he said.

TVS Motor Company President and CEO K N Radhakrishnan said the company would gradually phase out the existing StaR City model with the new variant. This motorcycle, he said, is made at the company's facilities in Mysore and Himachal Pradesh.
Srinivasan said with the launch of Scooty Zest, Victor and new Apache series, TVS would have a product in every segment, from basic Scooty model to high end Apache."We will be present in all segments from the smaller scooter Scooty to (big scooterette) Jupiter, (high end motorcycle) Apache to (basic 100cc) TVS Sport", he said.
On exports, Radhakrishnan said the company saw a three per cent increase in market share in 2013. As part of increasing overseas presence, TVS would also sell products in more foreign markets, including Latin America and Africa, he said.