TVS Motor Company, the country's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer, has revealed that it is working towards wrapping off its proposed joint venture partnership with German auto major BMW by the end of ongoing 2012-13 financial year. The announcement came on December 3, 2012 in New Delhi.
If the proposed partnership takes place, the Chennai based Indian two-wheeler maker will collaborate with BMW on its marketing and expansion plans of its sports bikes in the country. Shedding light on the latest development, H. S. Goindi, Co-President, Marketing, TVS Motor Co. was quoted as saying, “Talks are on (with BMW) and we expect something to materialise before the end of the ongoing fiscal.”
However, Goindi refused to divulge more details concerning nature and details of the proposed joint venture between TVS Motor Co. and BMW. The Indian motorcycle maker is believed to be taking bold steps by venturing into premium sports bike segment, with help from German firm in the country. Accordingly, BMW is expected to provide cutting edge technology used in its own sports bikes to TVS Motor Company, in exchange for its countrywide presence including retail stores and service outlets. Further, the Indian firm will be looking towards expanding its footprint and market share by using BMW derived technology in developing its upcoming new models, most definitely high end performance bikes.
Reportedly, BMW launched its own high performance sports bikes in the country two years back in 2010. The German auto major failed to capitalize due to its limited dealership network and even more scarce numbers of authorised service outlets. At present, the BMW made motorcycles are available mostly in few metropolitan cities and thus, the ongoing quest for a joint venture with TVS Motor Co. might come handy in establishing a pan Indian presence.
Currently, the German auto giant retails its ultra modish sports bikes through its subsidiary, BMW Motorrad on Indian turf. BMW Motorrad's authorised retail outlets are present in three Indian metropolitan cities – Bangalore (Navnit Motors), New Delhi and NCR (Deutsche Motoren) and Mumbai (Navnit Motors). Further, the company has a five product line up of sports bikes comprising, BMW 1000, BMW 1200, BMW 1600, BMW HP2 and BMW K1300. The lowest priced model is BMW 1200 with a retail cost of close to Rs. 15.9 lacs, while the sports bike with heftiest price tag of Rs. 25.7 lacs is BMW HP2.
