TVS Motor Company arrives in Italy, with a direct branch. The Indian giant, fourth largest producer in the world with 4.1 million vehicles (two and three wheels) per year, he is known above all for his partnerships with BMW, for which he produces the naked G 310 R and the small adventure G 310 GS, as well as the small electric CE 02. The intentions are serious : “Italy in 2023 was the largest market for two-wheelers in Europe, and is set to become so in 2024 as well. Precisely for this reason, in Europe we decided to be the first to open a branch in Italy, even if we are thinking about France and Germany”. Sharad Mohan Mishra, President and Head Group Strategy of TVS Motor Company, said at a press conference. There dealer network it will be established in June, but the forecast is to distribute the first vehicles by the summer. Even if this were the case (the times are objectively tight) it will not be possible to make full haul for 2024, but this does not worry Mishra, who says: “We come not to stay one, three or five years, we would like to stay forever”. It is therefore premature to talk about volumes for the 2024 season, even if the objectives are very high: TVS wants to become one of the big names in our market. TVS Motor Italy was established last March 28 and is led by Dr. Giovanni Notarbartolo from Furnari, who comes from Peugeot Motocycles. As far as support is concerned, spare parts are already on their way from India.
But which bikes will be distributed? The range will initially be made up of 8 models, for the description of which we refer to the data released on the parent company’s Indian website. The ones with the largest displacement will be the naked ones Apache 310RR and the faired Apache 310 RTR: technically relatives of the BMW 310, they are powered by a modern 312 cc single-cylinder, capable of around 35.6 HP at 9,700 rpm on the naked bike. The frame is a steel tube trellis, with an aluminum rear subframe. The electronics are also notable, with RbW accelerator and 6-axis inertial platform, for numerous controls such as ABS cornering, anti-wheelie, anti-lifting at the rear and much more. Two edgy motorcycles, with a sporty style.
Of a completely different taste Ronin 250, powered by a single-cylinder engine with air and oil cooling, 226 cc and 20.4 HP. A classic motorcycle in style, or a ‘modern-retro’, as it is called in TVS. With this range, it is obvious, TVS will elbow its way into a low market segment, we mean in terms of engine capacity, already well covered but not as well covered as, for example, the one just above the 500 twin-cylinder segment. Who will be TVS’ competitors? Much will depend on the pricing policy adopted for landing in Italy, for which there is still no official news. They will be disclosed soon, but presumably they could position themselves between those of the emerging Chinese brands and those of the Europeans present with motorcycles around 300/350 cc. And then there will be an entry level 125, named Raider 125.
