TVS MOTOR climbed three spots to become India’s second-largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer in FY24, the only legacy automaker in the Top 3 list. It sold over 40 lakh two-wheelers. Of these, 1.83 lakh were electric, up 123% from 82,108 in previous fiscal. “Electrification has been a huge focus,” says MD Sudarshan Venu. He expects electric vehicles to contribute 20-25% to volumes in three years from 5% at present. The government wants 80% of all two-wheelers sold to be electric by the end of the decade. “We have developed a complete range, from small scooters which you will see soon to mid-size electric iQube and premium electric scooter TVS X,” says Venu. TVS will also enter the electric three-wheeler market.
Globally, the company gets a bulk of export revenue from Africa, which has underperformed recently. TVS Motor is also venturing into western markets like Europe and U.K. It acquired Britain’s iconic sporting motorcycle brand Norton in 2020 in which it is investing £100 million. “We will play it in a totally differentiated way as brand Norton comes to life again next year,” he says. TVS has had a decade-long partnership with BMW Motorrad. The company is also looking at new categories such as e-bikes. It has acquired Switzerland’s largest e-bike maker Swiss E-Mobility Group.
Venu also leads the group’s financial services. “Today, 25% of our group profits come from financial services, most of which is non-two-wheeler,” he says. “We have over 15 million consumers on the platform and over ₹30,000 crore of AUM. Financial services is going to be a big opportunity,” he says. — Karan Dhar