The Hindu : TVS Motor plans to enter ASEAN countries

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 21, 2002

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Business

TVS Motor plans to enter ASEAN countries

By Our Staff Correspondent

MUMBAI NOV. 20. The Chennai-based TVS Motor Company is exploring the possibility of entering the ASEAN countries market for two-wheelers particularly Indonesia and Vietnam.

Speaking to newspersons here today, Venu Srinivasan, Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, said the company was considering either setting up an assembly plant or even entering into a joint venture in these countries for 125cc motorcycles, "because these countries have consumers with similar tastes in two-wheelers as we have in India".

Mr. Srinivasan said "China is a difficult and complex market but we hope to get in by 2007-08 maybe in the 125cc range". Further he said the company was now the seventh or eighth largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world. "We would like to be among the top five global players by 2005-07," Mr. Srinivasan said. The company would make only TVS-branded products, although he did not rule out supplying products, he added.

The company plans to increase the capacity next year by around 70,000 units from 1.4-1.5 million units. Over the next three years, the company will be investing around Rs. 200 crores annually in augmenting capacity. Mr. Srinivasan said the domestic market, which is likely to touch sales of five million units this fiscal, could touch ten million units by 2007.

TVS Motor Company, which has two plants — at Mysore and Hosur — plans to introduce four new variants by 2003 — two variants of Victor, one variant of Fiero and one in the Scooty range of mopeds. The company will also launch a new motorcycle in early 2003-04. Mr. Srinivasan said in the first phase of production of the 125cc Victor, the company had touched 25,000 units a month. It has been stepped up to 40,000 units and by December, production will be at 50,000 units a month. This could go up to around 90,000 units by August 2003.

Mr. Srinivasan said in spite of lower sales, moped production would continue to be 10-12 per cent of the company's two-wheeler capacity. "We are strong in the south and will not decrease production," he said. TVS Motor spends around 2 per cent of its total turnover on R&D and this will be Rs. 50 crores next year.

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