TVS Motor Enters Italy As Part Of European Expansion Plans

TVS Motor Co. has entered Italy as part of its expansion plans for Europe.

The world’s fifth largest two-wheeler maker will introduce a selection of internal-combustion and electric scooters and motorcycles in the country that gave the world the iconic Vespa, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday. The company has incorporated TVS Motor Italia to manage operations in that country.

“Our move into Italy is a strategic step towards our global ambitions,” Sharad Mohan Mishra, president and head of group strategy at TVS Motor, said in the statement. “We are eager to introduce Italian customers to our vehicles, backed by our strong track record of having over 4 million global customers last year.”

TVS Motor will retail in Italy its best-selling scooters—NTorq, Jupiter 125 and iQube—as well as the Apache 310 series of motorcycles developed in collaboration with Germany’s BMW Motorrad—the two-wheeler arm of BMW AG. The portfolio also includes mountain and city electric bicycles.

To be sure, the Chennai-headquartered automaker has well-entrenched operations in 80 countries but nary a presence in Europe. That changed in 2023, when TVS Motor entered Turkey and sold more than 40,000 vehicles in the first year itself. In November 2023, the company signed a distribution deal with Zurich-based automobile retailer Emil Frey Group to sell its two-wheelers in Western Europe.

It’s worth mentioning here that in 2020, in the throes of a pandemic, TVS Motor acquired the iconic British marquee Norton Motorcycles in an all-cash deal. While progress on the deal has been limited, TVS is reportedly working on a new product line-up for Norton that will likely be ready in two years’ time.

On Wednesday, TVS Motor shares fell 1.84% to Rs 2,094.95 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.16% lower at 72,987.03 points.