India’s two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company, has announced that it plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore to manufacture electric vehicles. Sudarshan Venu, the company’s joint Managing Director, said that the proposed EVs will fall under an independent vertical.
“Mr Venu, a TVS Group prodigy, paves the way for the next generation of leaders. As the company’s New Strategy leader, this new line of Electric Vehicles is his vision. Ralf Speth—recently appointed as chairman of TVS Motor and former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover—and Kuok Meng Xiong—a leading global eCommerce investor for ByteDance, Palantir and Airbnb—are mentors to the young scion,” a company statement said.
Sudarshan Venu, in his interview with Economic Times, said, “We’ve quietly worked on EVs for the last one decade. It is a huge focus area for us as we advance. We are embracing this future; we are investing in it and are excited. We want to scale up the TVS electric experience pan India, and it is a space where we would like to play a leading role.”
“TVS Motor is working diligently on its 5-25kW two- and three-wheelers portfolio, launching all of them within 24 months. It aims to have electric vehicles across segments like delivery, commuter premium, high-performance sports, and electric three-wheelers,” the statement added.
The company’s new EV vertical has 500-600 engineers who are already working on multiple concepts for the new market needs. Designed and developed in India with global R&D, this range of EVs aims to launch in foreign markets.
“We are improving the profitability of our core business and cutting any Capex on non-core areas to keep the focus on electrification and digital future,” Sudarshan Venu said to ET. When asked about sales and finance numbers, he said, “We should see very rapid growth from here on. While the total cost of ownership parity is still some time away, in the three to five years, you will see significant growth in the industry; that is why we are investing.”
Arya has been a part of the Content & Research Team at Hrnxt.com. She is a keen observer of economic developments, emerging businesses, people in business and keeps a tab on latest happenings in the business environment.