New Delhi: TVS Motor Company on Wednesday and BMW Motorrad on Wednesday announced expansion of their long standing partnership to include joint development of new platforms and future technologies, including electric vehicles.
Under the extended scope of partnership, the companies plan to come up with electric vehicle platform in addition to the existing internal combustion platform for both global and domestic markets.
The first product under the enhanced co-operation, an electric model suited for the urban ecosystem, is expected to make its debut in the next 24 months.
"The next phase of our co-operation will cover many areas but centre around the future of electric urban mobility. This is an important theme globally for sustainilbility and it is something that TVS is very passionate about. We have invested a lot in electrification and today is a special chapter for the partnership with BMW,"TVS Motor Company Joint Managing Director Sudarshan Venu said in an online press conference.
The platform from BMW and TVS would play a key role in the future of mobility, he added.
"Expanding this successful partnership to EVs and other newer platforms will create opportunities to deliver advanced technology and aspirational products to global markets and bring valuable synergies to both companies," Venu stated.
In the nine years of long-term strategic partnership, the company has always cherished the common core values it shares with BMW Motorrad with focus on quality, engineering prowess, innovation and customer satisfaction, he added.
The tie-up comes at a time when new-age start-ups like Ola Electric and Ather are ramping up investment in electric scooters, forcing legacy two-wheeler makers like TVS and Bajaj Auto to follow suit.
Top automakers like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are also investing heavily in EVs as India has been encouraging automakers to go electric in a bid to reduce pollution and fuel imports.
Currently, EVs account for a fraction of total two-wheeler sales in the country, mainly due to high battery costs and the lack of charging infrastructure.
As part of the tie up, BMW Motorrad and TVS Motor will develop common platforms by mutually tapping the emerging technologies in the future mobility space, keeping in mind the global requirements of customer segments in various markets.
Exclusive products for both companies will be developed on these common platforms, and the companies will retail their products globally.
TVS Motor company said it will continue to bring on board engineering prowess in design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and provide quality and economic advantage.
"Our strong synergies have led to the development of impressive offerings in the sub-500cc segment. Since the launch, BMW G 310 R and BMW G 310 GS single-cylinder models continue to enjoy unrivalled popularity with over 100,000 global customers. We look forward to the future of this cooperation," BMW Motorrad Head Markus Schramm noted.
He noted that the new electric poduct is gong to clearly be a new concept and not like the usual electric scooters being launched currently.
BMW Motorrad is the two-wheeler arm of the luxury German carmaker,
In April 2013, TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad had signed a long-term strategic partnership to manufacture sub-500cc motorcycles for the global markets.
This collaboration has resulted in three products on the 310cc platform: BMW G 310 R, BMW 310 GS, and TVS Motor Company's TVS Apache RR 310.
With over 100,000 customers, the products have been well accepted in all the leading markets like the EU, USA, Japan, China and India.
