Chennai, September 16, 2013: TVS Motor Company today launched its latest scooter, the 110cc Jupiter. Targeted at the male rider, the Jupiter is based on the company’s Wego scooter platform and comes with a specially tuned CVT-I engine that promises to deliver 62 kilometres per litre. Priced at Rs 44,200 (ex-showroom, New Delhi), the Jupiter will initially be made available in North India and subsequently in South India markets by November this year. Given its pricing, the Jupiter is squarely targeted at the popular Honda Activa, which sees a considerable waiting period.
TVS will be expecting a lot from the Jupiter. Speaking at the launch, Venu Srinivasan, chairman of the TVS Group, said: “We’ve certainly been slow in coming out with our products, but we’ve invested enormous time and resources for the last three years to bring you the Jupiter.”
The Jupiter is powered by the same 110cc, 8bhp engine as in the Wego but comes with a raft of new and first-in-segment features including a gas-charged rear suspension, headlight pass switch, low-fuel warning light and a patented ‘Econometer’ which will help the rider extract the best fuel efficiency from the engine. LED tail-lamps and twin city lamps (in the headlamp) are another segment first.
The Jupiter, which has a 5-litre fuel tank, gets an external rear fuel filler, which means the rider does not have to get off the scooter and hold the seat at the petrol station.
The list of running gear is impressive as well with telescopic front suspension at the front and gas-charged suspension at the rear. Tubeless tyres mounted on smart matte-finished 12-inch black rims round off the package, although the disc brake option has been given a miss for now.
Other features include retractable front and underseat bag hooks, a spacious under-seat storage area and an under-seat mobile charging point.
K N Radhakrishnan, president and CEO of TVS Motor Co, , said the company is targeting sales of 30,000 scooters a month with the Wego and Jupiter expected to be the main contributors. “There will be some cannibalisation but as long as the sales are there, it’s fine,” he said.
TVS also plans to export the Jupiter to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka although the company says that at present scooters exports are still very few compared to motorcycles when it comes to exports.
Srinivasan also confirmed that a fresh version of the Scooty will be launched in January 2014. The new Scooty Zest will be targeted at female riders.
The scooter market in India has been on the upswing and with the Jupiter, TVS will be looking to beef up its scooter sales which have, of late, fallen. While its domestic motorcycle sales grew by 14 percent in August, increasing from 53,673 units in August 2012 to 61,313 units, scooter sales fell 4.49 percent -- 36,478 units in August 2013 (August 2012: 38,193 units). For the fiscal year till now (April-August 2013), TVS has sold a total of 673,718 units, down 7.37 percent over the year-ago sales.
However, with the overall scooter market in India showing much promise (a 14.77 percent growth in April-August 2013) and the sole vehicle category to post growth, TVS’s optimism to drive new gains will not be misplaced. But given well-entrenched rivals like HMSi and Hero MotoCorp, what remains to be is whether the Jupiter has the oomph to spin rings around the competition.
KARTHIK H
Photograph (L-R): Vinay Harne, president, new product development; K N Radhakrishnan, president and CEO, TVS Motor C, and Venu Srinivasan, chairman, TVS Group.