TVS is one of the most trusted brands in the two and three wheeler segments. Founded by T.V. Sundaram Iyengar in 1978, the company has its headquarters in Chennai. Covai Mail spoke to Sekhar D. Fernando- Area Manager for Coimbatore to know more on how the recently launched vehicles of TVS have fared and also the company’s plans on improving customer experience.
Greetings to you Sir, What is the current market position of TVS?
We are currently growing in Coimbatore with an industry size of 8,000 and a market share of 20 per cent. Our products have been received well by consumers. Especially, TVS Jupiter, which is a leading brand among scooters in the city, has seen a growth of 40%. We have also introduced another brand- Ntorq which has all the features to attract college students thereby inviting more footfalls in the showroom. So, our business volume has also grown at a steady pace.
Right, Can you throw some light on the features of Ntorq and Jupiter?
(After taking a deep breath), Ntorq is for the new generation customers who are looking for more sophisticated and premium features in a scooter. We have introduced mobile pairing feature for the first time in a scooter, where 7 mobiles can be paired along with SMS and Bluetooth features attracting a lot of college students.
We get a lot of enquiries about Ntorq every day. Talking about Jupiter, it gives better seating comfort with more width, has more mileage and better pulling power giving good value for money. Putting Jupiter and Ntorq together we receive a very good market share in Coimbatore.
What are the new launches in the market and how has the success rate been so far?
(After a pause) We recently launched RR 310 in Coimbatore. We have delivered more than 100 bikes in Coimbatore city; all on demand. It is a premium bike aimed to compete with KTM and other sports bikes and comes under the luxury segment. Recently, RR 310 racing was organized near Ooty and we have a club of valued customers for the same. Another is Ntorq, which is also doing well and attracting lot of footfalls in our showroom.
So which of these is a hot seller?
Both cater to different sets of customers. RR segment is more of luxury biking customers, meaning it is not for regular commuting. We have been able to attract customers from as far as Madurai and Tirnulvelli who are coming here (Coimbatore) for purchasing RR 310 bike because they are hardcore RR 310 fans. We also have a fan page in YouTube and other social media sites, where we have RR 310 fan page. Ntorq is entirely different and is targeted at college students who want premium features on a scooter as never seen before. It is meant for regular commuting.
If you could give us an insight into the upcoming launches in the months to follow?
See, in the upcoming months we will be release various other variants, specifically, towards the need of the customers. The company also plans to launch another scooter and a commuting bike, the details of which will be revealed in course of time.
Who are the main competitors for TVS?
As of now our close competitor is Honda in scooters and Hero, Honda and Bajaj for motorcycles.
Do you have a specific plan against your competitors?
Yeah! Actually we have focused a lot on customer needs. So, TVS Company has taken a lot initiatives to meet the needs and one such is touch points. We have 24 hour customer service, where one can give a missed call for sales, service, enquiry or test drive from the convenience of their homes. Once we receive the missed call, a sales executive will be sent to the customers’ place for picking up the vehicle for service, or if they want test drive, they can do it from the convenience of their home itself. For customers entering our showroom, we have specific customer lounge for providing express service where minor repairs will be attended to. In every nook and corner of Coimbatore, we have a format like main showroom, branch, outlet and then AD which eases and enhances the overall purchase experience at TVS.
Talking about price variation, Honda Activa costs around 70,000 and Jupiter does more or less the same. So, taking that aspect into account, how do you plan to tackle the situation, since Activa has more valuable customers?
First up, TVS does not play with price. Our main focus is service and satisfaction of the customers. Over the last four years the JDP survey showed TVS as the best service provider, which is the main motto of our company. So, like I said, price is not the main criteria for consumers as long as they receive some extra features and good service. We have trained sales executives to explain our products, features and benefits to the customers. We have created a set up, where a customer can know his financing options, his requirements along with other queries after walking into any TVS showroom.
We have sold more than a 2.5 million Jupiter scooters, which in itself is a huge achievement and goes on to tell how well the product has been received by new generation of people. The introduction of two new colors that is Autumn Brown and Classic in Jupiter makes it stand out amongst the crowd. It’s value for money for customers and in terms of customer satisfaction is the number one.
What are the other improvements we can expect from TVS?
Look, other improvements that we are planning to do in terms of our showroom, service networks, AD outlets or branches will see a unique set of service to the customers. There would be no differentiation between service offered in an outlet and in the main showroom. Wherever the customer goes, we have a set of standards which has been monitored by TVS and has been passed on to consumers helping them experience the joy of buying TVS products.
With the company planning to launch new vehicle can we expect some improvements in mileage?
He was quick to point out that TVS is looking towards consumer comfort to tackle its competitors and yes we will improve the mileage in the new arrivals.
– Renald A.Frank
Photo: Balaji Remy