On The Rebound

A little over six months back, TVS-Suzuki, the country's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, received a sucker punch. The Spectra, the manufacturer's completely indigenous four-stroke scooter, simply failed to sizzle despite its good looks and above-average performance (for a scooter).

The manufacturer had lavished the greatest attention to the four-stroker, anticipating a shift towards scooters of the sort and according to sources at TVS, it was almost like starting a new company. The shift did take place and unfortunately, TVS Suzuki found itself stationed on the fault line. Scooter sales began to bottom out and the two-wheeler major found few takers for a high-end scooter like the Spectra. But now TVS-Suzuki gets set to fire all cylinders with its latest launch, the Suzuki Fiero 150 CC four-stroke motorbike; the latest entrant in a market ruled by the by Hero Honda CBZ. The CBZ, by virtue of its early start, is the only one around in the 125 to 150 CC range; with Kinetic and LML bikes yet to hit the road.

 

But isn't the Fiero, in spite of the manufacturer's incredibly quick recovery, still a wee bit late coming into the scene, especially when TVS had the wherewithal to go ahead and launch a four-stroke bike long back? Admits P V Kulkarni, general manager (motorcycles), "We misread the market and our gut feel too was way off the mark. Besides, over the past one year, the scooter segment's share in the total two-wheeler market came down to 27 per cent from 35 and we believe, it'll still fall further." The future, according to Kulkarni, will be all about bikes, which account, as of today, more than 50 per cent of the Indian two-wheeler market. And TVS is ready to take the plunge with the Fiero. An upgraded five-speed version is on the cards. Says Kulkarni, "We could have gone ahead and copied the CBZ, but what's the point in being a me-too bike? The styling and the performance have been designed to appeal to prospective Splendor and Caliber buyers and maybe, even CBZ buyers." Now this means that the Fiero positioning and, more importantly, pricing, will aim not just at the CBZ. The ruse is to absorb new buyers, who get a more powerful bike for a little more money, and to also attract people looking to upgrade from their less powerful 100 CC bikes. The motorcycle is being rolled out from the manufacturer's new facility at Hosur, and will be progressively launched across the country.

While the Fiero, which impressed us with its performance, may well achieve its objective, there's more heartening news for the company. The fact that it is also gaining ground in the northern parts of the country. Kulkarni says that sales for its Max series of two-strokers have been on the rise in Rajasthan, UP and in MP, it's even better than Hero Honda. But Delhi and Mumbai are areas where the company lags behind and with the Fiero, it hopes to bridge the gap. As far as mopeds go, TVS is planning to further enhance its hold over the segment (current market share - 53 per cent) with the TVS Sport and a host of new launches planned over the next two years. According to sources, a four-stroke Scooty may be around by year-end and plans are also afoot for new scooterette launches. An upgraded version of the Shogun also should be in by April.