S Motor Company, the flagship company of TVS Group, is the third largest
two-wheeler manufacturer in India. The company manufactures a wide range
of two-wheelers from mopeds to racing inspired motorcycles. The company
also manufactures three-wheelers. The company has an annual production
capacity of 4 million 2 wheelers & 120,000 three wheelers. It is one of the
leading two-wheeler and three-wheeler exporters from India, distributing to
over 60 countries. The company has manufacturing plants located at Hosur
in Tamil Nadu, Mysore in Karnataka and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh. It
also has one manufacturing unit located at Karawang in Indonesia.
In the year 1979, TVS Group company Sundaram-Clayton Ltd started Moped
Division at Hosur to manufacture TVS 50 mopeds. In the year 1982, the
company entered into a technical know-how and assistance agreement with
Suzuki Motor Co Ltd of Japan and in the year 1985, they incorporated a new
company Lakshmi Auto Components Pvt Ltd for the manufacture of critical
engines and transmission parts.
In the year 1986, the company acquired the assets of the moped division
from Sundaram Clayton Ltd. Also, the name of the company was changed
from Indo Suzuki Motorcycles Ltd to TVS Suzuki Ltd. In the year 1992, they
launched two modes of motor cycles namely, Samurai and Shogun and in the
year 1993, they launched TVS Scooty.
During 1999-2000, TVS Suzuki Ltd was amalgamated with Sundaram Auto
Engineers Ltd, an unlisted group company which was incorporated in the
year 1992. As per the scheme, all the assets and liabilities of erstwhile TVS
Suzuki Ltd together with all obligations and contingent liabilities were vested
in Sundaram Auto Engineers (India) Ltd with effect from April 22, 1999. This
merged entity was later renamed TVS Suzuki Ltd.
The TVS group and Suzuki Motor Corporation parted ways from their 15-
year-old joint venture on September 27, 2001. The shares held by the
Suzuki Motor Corporation were acquired by Anusha Investments Ltd, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd for Rs 9 crore. Thus, the
company became a subsidiary of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd with effect from
November 15, 2001. Since, Suzuki Motor Corporation ceased to be a
shareholder of the company, the company cannot use the word 'Suzuki' as
the part of their name and hence the name of the company was changed to
TVS Motor Company Ltd.
During the year 2002-03, the new stylish TVS Scooty Pep and the upgraded
version of Fiero was launched in the market. In April 1, 2003, the subsidiary
company namely, Lakshmi Auto Components Ltd acquired the entire paid up
capital of Sundaram Auto Components Ltd. Consequently, Sundaram Auto
Components Ltd became a subsidiary company with effect from April 1,
2003.
In October 2003, the company entered into a scheme of arrangement with
Lakshmi Auto Components Ltd and Sundaram Auto Components Ltd. As per
the scheme, all the assets and liabilities of the rubber and plastic businesses
of Lakshmi Auto Components Ltd were transferred to Sundaram Auto
Components Ltd on slump sale basis on April 1, 2003 for a consideration of
12.25 crores. The remaining business of Lakshmi Auto Components Ltd,
namely engine components division together with their investments in other
bodies corporate was transferred to the company with effect from April 2,
2003.
During the year 2003-04, the company launched new products such as TVS
Centra, New Victor GL, Fiero F2 & Fx and Scooty Pep. During the year 2004-
05, they launched new products such as TVS Star, New Victor GLX, New
Victor GX and Scooty Pep 'Splash' series.
During the year 2005-06, the company entered into a joint venture with
Columbian party for exploring opportunities in Columbian market with an
equity investment of Rs 5 million. The company incorporated TVS Motor
Company (Europe) B V in Netherlands as a wholly owned subsidiary of the
company with an investment of Rs 91.63 crore. During the year, TVS Motor
Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore became a wholly owned subsidiary of the
company with an investment of Rs 30.51 crore.
PT TVS Motor Company Indonesia was incorporated in Indonesia to
manufacture motorcycles and parts with an investment of USD 27.60 million
and became subsidiary of the company in view of it being the subsidiary of
TVS Motor Company (Europe) B V, which holds 75% of the share capital. The
remaining 25% was held by TVS Motor Singapore Pte Ltd. PT TVS Motor
Company Indonesia has acquired lands in Indonesia for setting up a facility
for manufacturing two wheelers.
During the year 2006-07, the company has established a new plant in
Himachal Pradesh with an annual production capacity of 4,00,000 units
scalable to 6,00,000 units. PT TVS Motor Company Indonesia, a subsidiary of
the company, established a manufacturing facility at Karawang, near Jakarta
in Indonesia with production capacity of 3 lakh vehicles per annum. During
the year, the company launched multiple new products and variants such as,
StaR City ES, StaR Sport, Scooty Teenz and 99 Colors on Scooty PEP.
During the year 2007-08, the company commenced commercial production
from its Nalagarh Plant located in Himachal Pradesh. They commenced their
commercial production from their state-of-the art plant located at Karawang
in Indonesia and launched TVS Neo, which is exclusively developed for the
Indonesian market.
During the year, the company launched various new products and variants
such as TVS Flame, Apache RTR, StaR Sport, StaR City 110 cc, Scooty TeenZ
Electric, TVS Tru4 Oil. In March 2008, the company launched their three
wheeler, TVS King in two variants, namely two stroke petrol and two stroke
LPG.
The company won the Team Tech 2007 Award of Excellence for Integrated
use of Advanced Computer Aided Engineering Technologies in product
development. They also won the prestigious SAP ACE 2007 Awards for
Customer Excellence in the Most Innovative Netweaver Category for several
SAP implementations that are put in place.
In June 2008, the company entered into a contract manufacturing
arrangement with Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing Pvt Ltd whereby TVS
motor cycles will be manufactured at the latter's two-wheeler manufacturing
facility that is located on the outskirts of Kolkata. TVS would help
Mahabharat Motors to set up the factory and provides engineering support to
them. The production would commence from June 2009.
During the year 2008-09, the company launched Scooty Streak, a tough and
trendy variant of Scooty Pep+ and Apache RTR RD, premium segment
motorcycle. Also, they launched their three-wheeler, TVS King in six states.
In June 2009, T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Ltd and their subsidiaries
acquired the holding of foreign collaborators, Clayton Dewandre Holdings Ltd
in Sundaram-Clayton Ltd. Thus, Sundaram-Clayton Ltd became a subsidiary
of T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Ltd. Consequent to this acquisition, the
company also became the subsidiary of TVS with effect from June 3, 2009.
During the year 2009-10, the company launched TVS JIVE and TVS Wego in
the market. They also launched a four stroke three-wheeler with superior
features. They commenced export of TVS Apache to Brazil. Also, they
developed a pan India presence in three-wheelers. In December 2009, the
company acquired the entire shareholding of TVS Energy Ltd. Thus, TVS
Energy became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In June 2010,
they acquired the entire paid up capital of TVS Housing Ltd and thus, TVS
Housing Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.
In October 2010, the company won the SAP ACE Award for Consumer
Excellence 2010 in 'Best Run Award in Automotive' category. They also won
the Silver EDGE award from Information Week, a leading IT magazine for in
house design and development of Data Acquisition System for improving
shop floor productivity. Information Week annually recognize enterprises
driving growth and excellence through IT.
In November 2010, the company launched TVS TRU4 Premium, a semi-
synthetic 4T Engine Oil. In February 2011, Indian Bank signed an MoU with
the company for financing three wheelers manufactured by the company. In
March 2011, the company introduced ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) in their
premium segment motorcycle TVS Apache RTR 180, giving the bike
formidable stopping power and superior braking control that compliments its
high performance capability.
In 2011, the Company has developed an engine that is 20 per cent more fuel
efficient and is usable both in scooters and motorcycles.
In 2012, the company signed a MOU with Central Bank of India to provide
attractive financing options for its three wheeler TVS king across all 4,000
branches operating in India. The company is also a winner of the CII ITC
Sustainability Awards 2012 during under review.
In 2013, the company won Silicon India Mentor Graphics Best VLSI /
Embedded Design - Automotive Award. The company and BMW Motorrad
Signed a Cooperation Agreement. The Company proposed to set up assembly
line in Uganda.
In 2014, the company launched TVS TRU4 Synthetic 10W 30 Engine Oil. The
Company launches StaR HLX 125 Motorcycle in Tanzania. The Company also
launched Stylish TVS StaR City+ -Asian Network for Quality Award 2014.
In 2015, TVS Motor Company & Kangra Central Co-operative Bank in
Himachal Pradesh sign MOU. The company has launched the 2015 edition of
TVS Phoenix 125 for the drum version and for the disc brake version. During
the year, the company has introduced a special edition of its legendary TVS
XL Super' in celebration of crossing the milestone of 1 crore mark in sales.
The Company signs MOU with TN Government for investment of Rs 350
crore. The Company also has launched its motorcycle 'TVS Sport' with
improved mileage and additional features during the year under review.
On 16 March 2016, TVS Motor Company announced that it has entered into a
partnership with Snapdeal to sell its motorcycles and scooters online. Nine
two-wheeler products from TVS Motor Company will be available on
Snapdeal. Customers will now be able to select model, colour and dealership
of their choice on the Snapdeal Motors platform from the comfort of their
homes. Snapdeal Motors platform was launched in November 2015.
On 11 May 2017, TVS Motor Company announced its alliance with MASESA
(Mayor Servicios Socieda Anonima), a Guatemala based company that is a
leader in the commercialization of motorcycles and Tuk Tuks in the Central
American region. This alliance is in line with the company's plan to expand
and strengthen its presence in Central Amrica, LATAM, South East Asia and
Middle East. In this alliance, MASESA will develop exclusive TVS Motor
Company concessionaires in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Costa Rica.
On 28 June 2017, TVS Motor Company announced its partnership with Abans
Auto, a leading distributor in Sri Lanka. Through this tie-up, TVS King, the
200 cc passenger three-wheeler, will be launched in the Sri Lankan market.
As a part of the agreement, TVS Motor Company will leverage Abans Auto's
network of over 200 showrooms and appointed dealers in strategic locations
around Sri Lanka. Furthermore, Abans Finance will provide finance schemes
to the customers of TVS Motor Company at affordable rates.
On 26 September 2017, TVS Motor Company announced that its popular
scooter brand, TVS Jupiter, has clocked sales of 2 million units within 4 years
of its launch. On 6 December 2017, TVS Motor Company announced the
launch of TVS Apache RR 310. The motorcycle marks TVS Motor Company's
entry into the super-premium segment, both in domestic and international
markets.
On 5 February 2018, TVS Motor Company announced its foray in the 125cc
scooter segment with the launch of TVS NTORQ 125. Designed for the youth,
TVS NTORQ 125 has been developed based on the TVS Racing pedigree and
comes with the state-of-the-art CVTi-REVV 3 Valve engine. The scooter also
marks the launch of an exclusive technology platform - TVS SmartXonnect -
making it India's first connected scooter.
On 14 March 2018, TVS Motor Company launched the new 2018 TVS Apache
RTR 160 4V. A testimony to the racing legacy of the TVS Apache RTR series,
the new TVS Apache RTR 160 4V is the most powerful 160cc motorcycle,
creating a new benchmark in the segment. On 23 August 2018, TVS Motor
Company launched a new 110cc commuter motorcycle - TVS Radeon.
On 10 September 2018, TVS Motor Company announced that its premium
motorcycle brand, TVS Apache has crossed a key sales milestone of 3 million
units. On 18 September 2018, TVS Motor Company announced that its 125cc
scooter offering TVS NTORQ 125 has crossed the 1 lakh sales mark.
On 19 September 2018, TVS Motor Company announced its association with
leading distributer in the Mexican region, Torino Motors, a subsidiary of
Groupo Autofin. In the first year of the association, Torino Motors will work
with TVS Motor Company to open 40 exclusive stores in the country for the
distribution of two-wheelers. With over 40 years of experience in the region,
Torino Motors specialises in automobile and retail finance.