TVS Motor Company reported an overall growth at 17 per cent with bike sales growth, which stands at 23 per cent, according to Senior Vice-President of the company, Mr R. Chandramouli.

He said that Star and Apache boosted sales in May with 60,000 units of Star sold in May itself. Apache sales are likely to touch 9,000 units in June. He expects to maintain the company's growth rate at 25 per cent.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Mr R Chandramouli:

Which categories drove sales in May?

I think Star continued to do well and our newly launched product Apache is also touching almost 7,000 vehicles and it is doing well. Overall, our growth has been 17 per cent and in bikes, we have grown by 23 per cent and this is almost as per our plans.

How many Stars did you sell in May?

We sold about 60,000.

What is the target you set out for this quarter in terms of sales for both Star and Apache?

In May, we have already done 7,000 Apaches and probably in June, we will go up to 9,000.

As far as Star is concerned, next month there might be a slight slowdown because the monsoon is setting in.

But it will be as per our plan and we will maintain this growth of 25 per cent.

You are offering much more aggressive pricing and discounts in the market because the market leader Hero Honda told us that they expect to see expressive pricing from the key players this year?

I do not think we are going to follow the pricing route as Star is doing well for us.

When is the next product launch from your stable?

The launch will be continuous and we will add some variant from July-August and then some from September-October during the festival season. Then we expect something to come in January-February.

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