India as a nation has a preference for choosing a two wheeler over a four wheeler. It is quite easy to see the Indian roads packed with motorcycles and mopeds zipping away and snaking their way through the notorious Indian traffic. Almost every household has some form of a two wheeler at home which they use for travelling with whole families . The entire two wheeler market segment is flooded with gearless mopeds like Activa, Jupiter and budget geared vehicles like Passion, Splendor and Victor. There is a vehicle for every economic requirement in India.
The Indian market is majorly ruled by Honda, Bajaj and TVS all of which have a plethora of models available for the market. Let us take a look at the story of TVS Motors, a true Indian company which makes vehicles for the Indian sensibilities.
Beginnings:
T.V. Sundaram Iyengar began with Madurai’s first bus service in 1911 and founded T.V.S., a company in the transportation business with a large fleet of trucks and buses under the name of Southern Roadways. This is also the first company to run buses in Delhi and with their large number of buses, TVS quickly began to rule the transportation market in Delhi. After the death of Sundaram Iyenger in 1955, his sons took over the business.
Sundaram Clayton:
In 1962, Sundaram Clayton came into existence. This company was a collaboration of the Sundaram company and Clayton Dewandre Holdings of the United Kingdom. Sundaram Clayton started making products like motors, bike brakes, compressors and other automotive products. For about a decade, the company was engaged in the same work , they were manufacturing automotive products.
In 1978, they set up a plant to manufacture mopeds at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. They began with TVS50 which was also India’s first two seater moped. Sundaram Clayton then entered into a collaboration with Japan’s Suzuki Limited as a joint venture in 1987. TVS and Suzuki shared a one year long relationship that was aimed at technology transfer for design and manufacture of two wheelers specifically for the Indian market. TVS Suzuki introduced many models such as the Suzuki Supra, Suzuki Samurai, Suzuki Shogun and Suzuki Shaolin.
After a fruitful relationship, the collaboration finally came to an end in 2001 following which TVS signed a moratorium for 30 months during which Suzuki promised not to enter the Indian market with competing two wheelers. TVS was then renamed to TVS motors.
Recent Past
TVS Motors entered the racing bike category with the Apache model and the budget and mileage friendly segment with the Jupiter series. In early 2015, TVS Racing became the first Indian factory team to take part in the Dakar Rally, the world’s longest and most dangerous rally. TVS Racing partnered with the French motorcycle manufacturer Sherco, and named the team Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team.
In 2016 TVS started manufacturing the BMW G310R, a model co developed with BMW Motorrad after their strategic partnership in April 2013.
TVS Motors also has a list of firsts in India which is to be the first to indigenously produce a four stroke motorcycle. The list of firsts from the firm include: India’s first 2 seater moped – TVS 50, India’s first Digital Ignition with the TVS Champ, India’s first fully indigenous motorcycle – Victor, and the first Indian company to launch ABS in a motorcycle with the Apache RTR Series.
TVS Motors is currently the third largest motorcycle company in India with a revenue of Rs. 20,000 crores. With a strong history and a proven track record for innovation and its commitment to making the lives of Indians better, TVS Motors will only look forward to releasing more models into the market and become the market leader in India.
The post TVS Motor Story : A True Blue Indian Motorbike Company appeared first on Startup Stories.
Author: Sampath Pavan Kuppili
Source : https://www.startupstories.in/stories/tvs-motor-story-a-true-blue-indian-motorbike-company
Date : 2020-09-14T05:50:59.000Z