The Hindu : Business : TI makes foray into eBikes

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Friday, Jun 13, 2008
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TI makes foray into eBikes

Special Correspondent

Opens factory at Ambattur to produce 100 bikes daily

CHENNAI: Tube Investments of India (TII), a part of the Rs. 9,582-crore Murugappa Group, has announced its foray into eBikes by kick-starting its factory at Ambattur here. M. M. Murugappan, Chairman, TII, on Thursday, inaugurated the eBikes factory. The factory would have a production capacity of 100 eBikes a day in the low and high-speed categories. These eBikes would be marketed under the aegis of the BSA brand. The market for eBikes is estimated at Rs. 450 crore. The industry is expected to double in a year’s time.

Technical tie-up

The Ambattur plant would have facility for painting, assembly and testing of eBikes. Key parts such as motor, controller, battery, lamps, wheel discs, tyres and tubes would be sourced from reputed automotive vendors. The low-speed eBikes would come with a top speed of 25 kmph (km per hour) and high speed models up to 45 kmph.

Arun Alagappan, Senior Vice-President, TI Cycles, said the design for the e-Bikes was done in-house. The company was also looking at a technical tie-up option with an overseas company. It was holding talks with a couple of Korean firms and a Taiwanese company. A final decision on the technical tie-up would be done soon, he added.

Mr. Alagappan told The Hindu that TI Cycles was looking at a price options of Rs. 25,000 onwards for its eBikes. “We are investing heavily into R&D to ensure that our products are of international quality, suiting the discerning Indian customer,” he said.

The initial launch would target the southern market, which was a strong market for BSA.

To attract children

The BSA branded e-Bike would ideally be positioned to attract children in the age group of 14 to 21 years.

The company would set up a dealer network with top quality service stations on the lines of the two-wheeler industry. Recharge points would also come up in different parts of key cities.

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