MICROMOBILITY
A GREENER FUTURE
TVS is investing heavily into the e-mobility space. Daniel Blackham speaks to president and head of e-bikes Sharad Mohan Mishra to understand the group’s plans for the e-bike market
T
he TVS Group is a multinational business with more than 50 subsidiaries including motorcycle manufacturer, TVS Motor Company.
TVS Motor Company is the largest company within the group and has an annual production capacity of more than four million vehicles. In recent years, TVS has expanded in Europe with the purchase of British motorcycle marque Norton. TVS is also interested in the future outside of combustion engines with the acquisitions of European e-bike maker Swiss E-Mobility Group and EBCO. Two significant stakes in the ground. But to understand where TVS is going, you have to look back at its roots. T. V. Sundram Iyengar started the first bus service in Madurai, India in 1911, and founded TVS, a company in the transportation business with a fleet of vehicles. “From that time onwards, quality of life improvements
have been the focus for all TVS activities,” explained Sharad Mohan Mishra, president and head of e-bikes at TVS Motor Company. “For TVS, the aim is to improve quality of life globally through mobility solutions which are sustainable, safe, responsible. “We would like to have asset types which satisfy the needs of all across different geographies, and that’s where our investment in e-bikes comes in.” TVS has seen a shift in attitudes in industrial economy, particularly in Europe. “It is very directed towards greener, shorter distance journeys,” said Mishra.
“Businesses and individuals want more control in terms of the carbon footprints.
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“E-bikes have a very clear positioning for us and that is why our investment in this up-and-coming market is doing well. By building up an asset type that we can expand into a portfolio, we are then able to satisfy our own vision statement.”
European e-bike market Although e-bikes are gaining market share in all European territories, businesses in that space are not immune to the hurdles facing those in traditional cycling circles. Despite this, Mishra sees more opportunities than challenges and insists there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“Europe is actually quite advanced in terms of the adoption of e-bikes,” he explained “An electric bike is just not an extension of the bicycle industry, it is a new mobility platform for short distance travelling. I see this as a 10-year-old industry still at an early stage.
“The efficiency across the industry and more consolidation will happen, as will more refinement in terms of customer experience.”
Mishra acknowledges that supply chain optimisation is the biggest hurdle ahead for the e-bike market “You’ll see more and more streamlining of the supply chain and reduction of costs. “And there’ll be more focus on the customer experience and ownership - as many [other] industries have seen.” Investing in EBCO
The belief in e-mobility as integral to improving the quality of life for millions around the world is central to TVS’ expansion into e-bikes. “We have invested ourselves into the market already
December 2023 | 35
Sharad Mohan Mishra
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