India's third largest two wheeler-maker TVS Motors is looking at making a significant headway into the three-wheeler market by the end of this calender year with an eye on overtaking segment leader Bajaj in another 3-4 years.
“Although we have been in the three-wheeler business for only about 14 months, we have been undertaking product development over the last four years. The response for our products, so far, has been good and we should be able to capture more than 50 per cent of the market within 3-4 years,” TVS Motor President (Marketing) H S Goindi said on Monday. He was in the city to launch four-stroke LPG auto-rickshaws in the East.
“This is a two-player industry and I don't think we are being over-ambitious. With the current state of public transport in the country, there is going to be requirement for mobility and we have a very competitive product,” he added.
So far, the four-stroke vehicle has been launched in eight states — including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — and will be available nationwide by December. TVS will increase the number of dealerships to 125 from the 70 dealers that it has currently, in another 3-4 months, Goindi said.
While TVS Motors has invested about Rs 120 crore to augment its three-wheeler division, the firm will not have to spend any significant amount to ramp up capacity in order to match its rivals, Goindi indicated. “At the Hosur plant, which is our primary facility for the production of three-wheelers, we have an installed capacity of 1,00,000 vehicles in three shifts annually. If required, we could increase the number of shifts and add capacity to match demand,” he said.
Earlier this month, the bike-maker had said that two-wheeler sales in September had risen by 3.87 per cent to 1,42,553 units from 1,37,246 units a year ago. Domestic sales, too, saw a 11 per cent increase, at 1,32,281 units in September as against 1,19,017 units in the same month last year.