TVS MOTOR COMPANY
TVS motor Company (commonly known as TVS) is an
Indian multinational motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Chennai.
It is the third-largest motorcycle company in India in terms of revenue.
The company has annual sales of three million units and an annual
production capacity of over four million vehicles. TVS Motor Company is
also the second largest two-wheeler exporter in India with exports to over
60 countries.
TVS Motor Company is the flagship company of the TVS Group, being
the largest company of the group in terms of valuation and turnover. The
logo for TVS Motor Company features a red horse.
History
T. V. Sundram Iyengar began with Madurai's first bus service in
1911 and founded TVS, a company in the transportation
business with a large fleet of trucks and buses under the name
of Southern Roadways.
Early history
Sundaram Clayton was founded in 1962 in collaboration with
Clayton Dewandre Holdings, United Kingdom. It manufactured
brakes, exhausts, compressors and various other automotive
parts. The company set up a plant at Hosur in 1976, to
manufacture mopeds as part of their new division. In 1980, TVS
50, India's first two-seater moped rolled out of the factory at
Hosur in Tamil Nadu, India. A technical collaboration with the
Japanese auto giant Suzuki Ltd. resulted in the joint-venture
between Sundaram Clayton Ltd and Suzuki Motor Corporation,
in 1987. Commercial production of motorcycles began in 1989.
Suzuki relationship
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. Re-christened
TVS-Suzuki, the company brought out several models such as
the Suzuki Supra, Suzuki Samurai, Suzuki Shogun and Suzuki
Shaolin. In 2001, after separating ways with Suzuki, the
company was renamed TVS Motor, relinquishing its rights to
use the Suzuki name. There was also a 30-
month moratorium period during which Suzuki promised not to
enter the Indian market with competing two-wheelers.
Recent
le TVS also competes in the 3 Wheeler segment
Recent launches include the flagship model TVS Apache RR 310,
the TVS Apache RTR 200, TVS Victor and TVS XL 100. TVS has
recently won 4 top awards at J.D. Power Asia Pacific Awards 2016,
3 top awards at J.D. Power Asia Pacific Awards 2015 and Two-
Wheeler Manufacturer of the Year at NDTV Car & Bike Awards
(2014–15).
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 French motorcycle
manufacturer Sherco, and named the team Sherco TVS Rally
Factory Team. TVS Racing also won the Raid de Himalaya and the
FOX Hill Super Cross held at Sri Lanka. In three decades of its
racing history, TVS Racing has won over 90% of the races it
participates in.
In 2016, TVS started manufacturing the BMW G310R, a model co-
developed with BMW Motor rad after their strategic partnership in
April 2013. In December 2018, the Hosur plant where the
motorcycle is manufactured rolled out its 50,000th G310R series
unit.
On 6 December 2017, TVS launched their most-awaited
motorcycle, the Apache RR 310 in an event at Chennai. The 310 cc
motorcycle with an engine which was co-developed with BMW
features the first ever full fairing on a TVS bike, dual-channel ABS,
EFI, KYB suspension kits, etc. It is expected to rival bikes like KTM
RC 390, Kawasaki Ninja 250SL, Bajaj Pulsar and Dominar and
Honda CBR 250R after hitting the market. The Apache RR 310 is
designed and realised entirely in India.
On 17 April 2020, it has been reported that TVS Motor Company
acquired Norton Motorcycle Company in an all cash deal. In the
short term, they will continue the production of motorcycles
at Donington Park using the same staff.
Characteristics of TVS Motor Company[edit]
It was the first Indian company to deploy a catalytic converter in a
100 cc motorcycle and 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 – TVS Champ
India's first fully indigenous motorcycle – TVS Victor
India's first company to launch ABS in a motorcycle - Apache
RTR Series
Indonesia's first dual-tone exhaust noise technology TVS Tormax
India's first connected scooter which claims to be India's first
Bluetooth Connected Scooter with features like Call Assistance,
Navigation and Engine Kill switch - TVS NTORQ
India's First 125cc bike with 3 Valve Engine, Inverted TFT display
with Gear Shift Indicator, Underneath Storage - TVS Raider 125.
Awards and recognitions
TVS Motor won the Deming Application Prize in 2002.
In the same year, the work done for the TVS Victor motorcycle made
TVS Motor win the National Award for successful commercialization
of indigenous technology from the Technology Development
Board, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.] In
2004, TVS Scooty Pep won the 'Outstanding Design Excellence
Award' from Business World magazine and the National Institute of
Design, Ahmedabad.
The effective implementation of Total Productivity
Maintenance practices gave TVS Motor the TPM Excellence Award,
given by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance in 2008.
The company's Chairman Emeritus,[] Venu Srinivasan, was
conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Science degree by
the University of Warwick , United Kingdom in 2004, while the
Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri, one of India's
highest civilian distinctions in 2010.
Innovative implementation of Information Technology has won TVS
Motor the Ace Award for Most Innovative NetWeaver
Implementation in 2007, awarded by technology major SAP AG, and
the Team Tech 2007 Award of Excellence for Integrated use
of Computer-aided engineering Technologies.
Himalayan Highs, an initiative launched by TVS Motor Company has
been included in the India Book of Records when Anam Hashim
became the first woman on a 110 cc scooter to complete the trip to
Khardung La, the world's highest motorable stretch.
During an episode of The Grand Tour, Richard Hammond bought a
brand new TVS Star HLS 100 cc "for £800" and used it to complete
the Feed the world challenge, transporting fish 200 miles
from Maputo to Bingo. During the journey, the bike performed
beyond the presenter's expectations, prompting the normally
motorbike-critical Clarkson to comment, "That Ewan
McGregor travelled the world on a BMW GS why didn't he just get
one of these?"
