OATS to get a taste of TVS power

EVEN AS THE banter between Rajiv Bajaj and Bhavish Agarwal on OATS (Ola, Ather, Torque, Smart-E) and ICE continues, TVS Motor has become the country's second biggest electric two-wheeler maker. Agarwal's Ola Electric may still be ahead but the ICE set could soon catch up; TVS now controls more than a fifth of the electric two-wheeler market and is looking to grab a bigger share with more models and touch points.

- SWARAJ BAGGONKAR

• MEGA PLAY ON EV SCOOTERS

"Electric is one big opportunity," Managing Director Sudarshan Venu said in August at the launch of the TVS-X in Dubai.

He's walking the talk having committed the bulk of the company's 800-900 crore capex this year to this segment. How big the ambition is can be gauged from TVS' intention to take the share of EV scooters within its portfolio to 40% in just a couple of years from the current share of 6%. The "aspirational" TVS-X, to be rolled out in Bengaluru this month and in 15 cities by the end of the year is one big step in this direction. TVS-X is positioned at the upperend of the range, a premium play. Venu has sounded confident there will be takers for the up-market scooter priced at ₹2.5 lakh and built with aluminum rather than the traditional steel chassis. "We believe there are discerning millenials in India, the GenZ crowd who are global trendsetters and we want to showcase our technology to them," he says, adding the idea is to stay "sustainable, cool and connected".

There are skeptics who point out the competition may have a better offering both in terms of performance and design. But while the TVS-X may or may not live up to its promise-it claims a range of 140km on a single charge and a top-speed of 105kmph-the EV rollout will continue.