TVS Motor Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of two- and three-wheelers, has forayed into personal mobility space by acquiring a majority stake in European e-bike brand EGO Movement for 16.6 million Swiss Franc (CHF).
The partnership is in line with TVSM’s commitment to building an aspirational product portfolio while nurturing sustainable and scalable brands, said Sudarshan Venu, JMD, TVS Motor Co. during a web chat.
It also reiterates the company’s strategy to expand its global presence in developed markets, commencing with Europe, which serves as the heart of the e-bike mobility landscape, he added.
On Thursday, TVSM announced that it had signed a partnership with Swiss-based EGO Movement as a majority shareholder, in an all-cash deal through its Singapore subsidiary TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte. Ltd .
“We have acquired 80% stake of Swiss firm for 16.6 million CHF. Initially, the plan is to really scale up business in Europe by doubling the offerings and outlets,” he said.
EGO is a Swiss technology company that provides smart, connected mobility solutions through a pipeline of e-bikes, e-cargo bikes, and e-scooters . It has an omni channel network spread across Switzerland and Germany, it said in a statement.
According to Mr. Sudarshan, the Swiss firm is a profitable one with 40 workers. It had posted a revenue of 5 million CHF last year and it was planning to double it this year. The company has 10 outlets in Switzerland and Germany. It will have 20 stores by 2022 and 32 by 2025.
Currently, EGO has several products in city, hybrid and cargo variants and plans are on to double it. EGO plans to sell 3,500 units during 2021 with an average price of CHF 3,300.
On the acquisition, he said: “TVSM is committed to being a personal mobility company. And in this area, we felt e-bicycles has a huge opportunity and growing at a double digit CAGRand was expected to achieve a industry revenue of €20-€25 billion euros by 2025.”
As TVSM was looking at e-bicycles segment to further grow its business in Europe, it came across the Swiss firm that had sound platform, satisfied customers, good management team and unique product and design, he said.
“Our initial focus will be Europe. Then we will look at India, the US and other markets. In Europe, we would like to scale it up exponentially,” he said.
“It is also an important milestone in our journey to grow our presence in Europe, with the Norton Motorcycles acquisition last year and now the launch of the personal e-mobility platform,” he said.
TVSM, meanwhile, announced its foray in the 125 cc segment with the launch of TVS Raider targeted at the aspirational young customers in India and globally. Priced at ₹77,500 (ex-showroom, Delhi), it is available in drum and disc variant. It will come in a striking red, blazing blue, wicked black and fiery yellow.
The new motorcycle comes with features such as a reverse LCD digital speedometer, optional 5-inch TFT cluster with voice assist, multiple ride modes and under-seat storage, it said in a statement.
