TVS Motor says it’s good to have startup challenge in EV business

TVS Motor Company has said that it is good to have startup challenge in the electrical vehicle (EV) space and some times, it provides the company a great opportunity to be competitive. There are more than 450 startups in the EV business and some of them may be successful, but the company cannot roll them out, said K N Radhakrishnan, director & CEO of TVS Motor Company, answering queries, at a recent analysts’ call.

“So I feel it is a great opportunity at some time, this kind of startup challenge is good to have for a 100-year-old company. It has got tremendous value. Because sometimes somebody has to shake you up. It is good to have competition,” he said.

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TVS Motor has more than 35,000 bookings for iQube, currently present in about 250 towns and gearing up for exports. “A lot of new products have been planned. I think it’s a question of time, and I see a great opportunity to enter the developed markets. In the developed markets, the pricing can be completely different than that of developing markets,” he said.

The EV business provides the company the opportunity to go global in the true sense, being in both developed and developing markets. “In the two-wheeler business, we are only present in developing markets, we are exporting to 70 countries and the majority is Africa, Latin America, and ASEAN countries. We are not yet in Europe, the US and Canada. Of course, with our association with BMW, we have more than 1,50,000 customers there globally,” he said.

With the partnership with BMW, the company is planning to launch a slew of products while TVS Motor will be designing some for them also. The company is studying the developed market, the customer, their buying behaviour and how they are using EV products. In the next five years’ time TVS will be there in many markets and the brand will be really strong in those markets, Radhakrishnan said.

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TVS Motor had earlier said it will have a capex of Rs 900 crore to Rs 1,000 crore for FY24 for the development of electric and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The second largest two wheeler company in the country, as part of its EV push, is planning to launch a slew of EV products including e- three wheelers and will be looking at the international markets.

During FY23, the company’s revenue from operations grew by 27% at Rs 26,378 crore as against Rs 20,791 crores recorded in the previous fiscal. Similarly, the operating EBITDA for the year was higher at 10.1% compared to 9.4%. The PBT before exceptional items was higher at Rs 2,003 crore as compared to Rs 1,243 crore while the PAT for the year was at Rs 1,491 crore as compared to Rs 894 crore, registering a increase of 67%.