At a recent event, Indian two-wheeler company TVS, launched its Jupiter scooter which is primarily aimed at the male customers of the country. Touted as the "Guru of Indian Scooters", TVS Jupiter is available from Rs. 50220 in Tamil Nadu. Lending a comment on Jupiter, Raghav Mishra, Marketing Manager for TVS said this was the first product of TVS group for the male segment, especially for traders and self-employed. Giving his views on the scooter sales for the company, P G Satheesh Kumar, General Manager (Sales) for TVS Motors told that the auto maker currently sells around 35,000 units per month which is expected to go up till 50000 units owing to the launch of Jupiter.
On the recent launch of the model, spokesperson for TVS was quoted as saying “The company considers TVS Jupiter one among the new wave of feature rich TVS products: offering greater comfort, convenience and first time features. TVS Jupiter is powered by a next generation noise-free, all-aluminum, low-friction engine that delivers an amazing mix of power, superior acceleration and best in class fuel efficiency. The metal bodied, TVS Jupiter is styled to enthuse the male consumer.”
As told by the company, the male scooter segment accounts for almost 36 per cent of the total sales of scooters across the country, while for the female scooter, the figures stand at 29 per cent. Mishra further told that 2.7 lakh scooters are sold each month as of now and this figure could easily reach three lakh in this festival season. The newly launched vehicle is manufactured at the Hosur plant of the company. According to industry experts, the sole reason for the launch of Jupiter is to tap in the market share of Honda Activa as it has build a significant customer base since its inception in Indian two-wheeler market. It must said that TVS has rightly positioned Jupiter in the male segment as Honda maintains its lead over same segment competitors. Experts also believe that since Mahindra, Hero and Yamaha have maintained their presence in scooter segment, most of their offerings are aimed towards luring female customers.
Compared to its nearest rival Honda Activa, the specifications of TVS Jupiter are quite similar with a maximum power output of 8 bhp at 7500 rpm. It is worth mentioning that the engine specifications of latest entrant are almost the same of Activa's with same torque levels. However, the price of TVS Jupiter stands marginally low as compared to Activa. With the launch of Jupiter in the festive season, TVS is hoping to cash in on the increased demand for new vehicles in this particular period. It is expected that aggressive pricing and launch strategy will pay good dividends to the company in boosting sales of its new product initially. Currently, TVS Motor Company enjoys a 15 per cent market share in the scooter segment and with the recent launch of Jupiter, it is expecting to increase these figures. In all likelihood, the increment might report around 4 to 5 per cent.
