TVS Motor Company on Wednesday unveiled its latest offering in the Apache series of premium bikes — an all-new naked sports Apache RTR 310 in Bangkok (Thailand) as the leading two- and three-wheeler maker seeks to take advantage of the premiumisation trend in the motorcycle segment in India as also to boost its presence in overseas markets, including Europe.
The new bike, the second product out of the TVS Motor-BMW Motorrad alliance, comes at a starting price of ₹2,42,990 (ex-showroom). The first motorcycle produced out of the TVS-BMW alliance is the Apache RR 310, which was unveiled in December 2017.
The new Apache RTR 310 comes in three variants and three BTO (built-to-order) customisations in the price range of ₹10,000-20,000.
Bookings open
Bookings have commenced and the deliveries will start by the end of this month. Apache RTR 310 will offer what the company calls “globally the first in motorcycles — climatic control seat – which will provide instant heating and cooling by 15°C from the ambient temperature and is controlled via the TFT cluster. The company has spent a little over ₹50 crore in development of this new bike.
“The Apache RTR 310 is the new flagship in the TVS Apache series, which was born on the racetrack, incorporating learnings from more than 40 years of TVS Racing experience. This is the bike for the youth across the world,” Vimal Sumbly, Head Business - Premium, TVS Motor Company, told over a video conference.
The new bike offers five riding modes including an all-new super moto mode. Other features include cruise control, dynamic brake lamp, 5” TFT Cluster with GoPro control, music control, voice assist, smart helmet device connectivity, telephony and navigation and race-tuned dynamic stability control with 6D IMU.
“Currently, we are selling about 6,000-7,000 units in a year in India and with Apache RTR 310, we seek to double the volumes in the next one year. Globally, we are looking at a total sales of about 25,000 units in the first year,” said K N Radhakrishnan, Director and CEO of TVS Motor Company.
Enhancing presence
In the domestic motorcycle market, TVS Motor has been enhancing its presence in the higher cc segment. With the Apache series of bikes, the company has been dominating the 151-200cc market with more than one-third market share, while it has been increasing volumes gradually with its Ronin 225cc bike in the 201-250cc category. The new RTR 310 is expected to bring in additional volumes in the 251-350cc segment, where it has been selling Apache RR 310.
The new bike will be retailed through the company’s 400 premium stores, which are exclusive zones within the dealerships.
TVS Motor will sell Apache RTR 310 across global markets including Europe, Latin America, and ASEAN.
“We will start selling in overseas markets from the next year and it will hit Europe during the next financial year. Apache RTR 310 will be the second product to be sold in Europe after Apache RR310,” added Radhakrishnan.
Sumbly said the size of the naked bike segment globally is estimated at 1.8 million units a year. This category’s share has been growing in the overall industry – from 15 per cent five years ago to 21 per cent now.