Business – BMW to produce small-displacement motorcycles with TVS Motor – Alliance between BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor

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BMW to produce small-displacement motorcycles with TVS Motor

Business - BMW to produce small-displacement motorcycles with TVS Motor - Alliance between BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor

BMW Motorrad and Indian manufacturer TVS Motor have just signed a long-term cooperation agreement to jointly develop and produce motorcycles with a displacement of less than 500 cc, the first models of which are expected for 2015. Explanations.

Alliance between BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have a little more luck and better memory than the others – remember that at the end of January, thus wishing to operate a "strategic refocusing"of his activity.

According to the German manufacturer, this decision was dictated by "changes in motorcycle markets, demographic trends and increasing ecological demands", which naturally led it to expand its own range in order to exploit new sources of growth…

This argument was taken up by the president of BMW Motorrad – word for word! – during a press conference held in Chennai, India, with its new partner: TVS Motor.

Admittedly, Stephan Schaller took the opportunity to recall the launch, at the beginning of next year, of an electric scooter, thus confirming that urban mobility and electric are two priority areas of development for the German giant..

But the big boss of BMW had not made the trip to India to promote the high-tech know-how of his company. It was more about announcing the arrival – the return ?! – from BMW in the segment of motorcycles with engine sizes below 500 cc.

BMW, made in india

To do this, the propeller firm has decided to join forces with the large Indian group TVS, whose subsidiary TVS Motor produces motorized two and three-wheelers: "2 million units per year for a turnover of 6 billion dollars", specifies BMW.

Linked to Suzuki for nearly 20 years – the partnership with the Japanese ended in 2011 – TVS Motor should be for BMW what Bajaj is for KTM today: a production tool perfectly suited to small-displacement – and to large volumes! -, in other words a valuable entry ticket to emerging markets.

"This means that in the future we will be able to offer vehicles of smaller capacity, in addition to the flagship segments of BMW Motorrad.", indicates the president of BMW Motorrad, without however specifying neither the displacement (s) of the future models, nor their kind…

"Different types of motorcycles are possible", is content for the moment to declare Stephan Schaller, assuring that they"will meet the expectations of a BMW motorcycle in terms of driving pleasure, while setting a new benchmark in terms of stability, agility and performance" !

These new motorcycles will be manufactured in India in one of the two TVS factories (based in Hosur and Mysore). They will be distributed by BMW on its main markets (Germany, United States, France, Italy) but also and especially in South America (Brazil in particular), India, China and Southeast Asia..

TVS Motor will produce, on the same basis as the future small BMWs, its own motorcycles intended primarily for its domestic market. "Agreement to help both TVS Motor and BMW Motorrad", recall our colleagues from the Indian daily .

250 cc in 2015 ?

However, whose business is going better and better around the world, TVS Motor "has steadily lost market share (in India, Editor’s note) and today represents 13% of the motorized two-wheeler market, compared to 14% in 2012 and 15% in 2011", reports The Economic Times.

In the sights of BMW’s new partner, the Indian daily quotes only one competitor: it is neither Honda, nor Hero (Honda’s former partner), but "Bajaj-KTM-Kawasaki (which) is developing aggressively"… let the match begin !

In addition, according to this time, the partnership between BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor should lead to "in 2015" on the "250 cc products", a segment where neither the German nor the Indian are present for the moment.

Contacted by Site, BMW France claims not to have "more information about a master displacement and a production date". To be continued on MNC: stay connected !

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