A new TVS motorcycle is in the making under the joint venture with BMW Motorrad. This was confirmed by President and CEO, TVS Motor Company.
The joint venture between TVS and BMW Motorrad in the Indian motorcycle market has given us the Apache RR310 (which is currently in its updated BS6 format). The flagship TVS Apache RR310 faired sports bike shares its internals with the entry-level BMW G310R naked sports and G310GS adventure-tourer. Now, a second TVS product with BMW Motorrad internals has been confirmed for the Indian market for 2021.
The BMW G310R, G310GS and Apache 310 have the same engine, chassis and even certain parts. All thre are manufactured at TVS’s manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The G310 series is also the first BMW Motorrad range that is manufactured outside Europe. All three motorcycles share the same engine in the exact state of tune. The 313cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder motor is good for 33.6bhp and 28Nm while mated to a 6-speed transmission.
Coming back to the new and second TVS-BMW Motorrad product, the news of its introduction came to light when Mr K. N. Radhakrishnan, President, CEO & Additional Whole-time Director of TVS Motor Company Limited made a comment. He said that the company is very happy with BMW Motorrad and possibly by next year, TVS will have one more product.
This new product could be the much awaited production variant of the TVS Zeppelin cruiser, which was showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo. The BMW-TVS partnership has launched an adventure tourer, a naked street bike and a fully faired motorcycle. What they don’t have in the arsenal currently, is a cruiser. And considering the market share and sales numbers of Royal Enfield in the segment, it is very much possible that the new TVS-BMW motorcycle could be a cruiser.
Not only Royal Enfield, others too are planning on launching cruisers in the 300-400 cc segment. This includes the likes of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki as well as the newly announced Bajaj-Triumph partnership. As of today, Royal Enfield enjoys more than 90% market share in the 350cc-500cc segment with yearly sales of about 7-8 lakh units. To keep the momentum going and stay ahead of rivals, Royal Enfield will thoroughly update their 350cc range this year. They will even launch new 250cc motorcycles, to increase sales and enter newer market segment.
When it was showcased as a concept, the TVS Zeppelin Cruiser was a 220cc motorcycle single cylinder motor with Integrated Starter Generator (ISG). It also got bio-key, HD camera, internet connectivity, dual ABS, disc brakes, spoke wheels, USD front forks, mono shock at the rear, etc. If the new TVS-BMW motorcycle which is being referred to by the company’s President, is indeed a cruiser, expect it to be a lot different than the Zeppelin concept.
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