TVS Motor Company will start rolling out BS-VI compliant models and electric vehicles in the second half of the current financial year (FY2019-20) i.e. post-October 2019, well before the deadline set by the government to comply with the new emission norms.
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TVS Motor Company confirmed that BS-VI models are currently under development. Meanwhile, its rivals such as Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and Hero MotoCorp have announced their first respective BS-VI compliant vehicles. Honda will launch the Activa 125 BS-VI very soon, while Hero MotoCorp will introduce the Splendor iSmart BS-VI later. We expect the first BS-VI compliant product from TVS to be its highest-selling scooter, the Jupiter.
TVS plans to upgrade its complete portfolio with BS-VI compliance by the last quarter of the current financial year, said K N Radhakrishnan, CEO and K Gopala Desikan, CFO of TVS Motor Company said during a conference call.
TVS recently gave the ZX variant of the Jupiter a makeover and equipped the premium model of the scooter with features like the LED headlight and a semi-digital instrument console. Thus, the BS-VI compliant Jupiter would most likely be more about a mechanical upgrade than a visual makeover. All BS-VI compliant two-wheelers would receive a fuel-injection system, along with other hardware upgrades to become more eco-friendly as mandated. The performance numbers are not likely to be drastically different from the BS-IV compliant products.
Apart from BS-VI and electric vehicles, TVS Motor Company is also working on alternative fuel variants and has recently launched the ethanol-powered variant of the Apache RTR 200 4V. The engine of the ethanol variant produces the same power and torque figures as the engine of the petrol variant. The company will also introduce a solar-powered scooter by 2022. The vehicle was revealed by leaked patent images in May this year.
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While TVS Motor company is preparing its electric vehicles, it has been sceptical about the deadline proposed by the government for mass electrification. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, called the deadline as unrealistic. Regular readers would know that the Government of India plans to mandate 100% EVs for sale of two-wheelers by 2025.
