India’s indigenous motor company TVS Motor Company last Thursday announced it acquired a major 75 per cent stake in Switzerland’s largest e-bike firm Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG). The company is famous for providing high-quality e-mobility mobility solutions with its brand portfolio including the likes of Cilo, Simpel, Allegro, and Zenith bikes. The brand retails through two online platforms and 31 physical stores.
Mr Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company remarked after the acquisition, “TVS Motor has always been committed to sustainability and has been investing in electric vehicles for over 10 years. The increasing global focus on the environment and personal well-being is rapidly accelerating demand for newer mobility solutions, and TVS Motor is investing to drive this change.”
In Europe, e-bikes are gradually becoming the de-facto mode of personal transportation. Given SEMGs major hold over the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), this acquisition could help TVS in its global domination plans.
TVS acquired Norton Motorcycles and collaborated with BMW
In a related attempt, as reported by TFI, TVS, which had acquired Norton Motorcycles in April 2020, opened a new headquarter in Solihull, United Kingdom last year. The company has established a world-class manufacturing facility in Solihull and plans to produce 8,000 units per year.
Similarly, TVS has been making rapid strides in the EV sector to establish itself as a big player. As reported by TFI, in December last year, the company also announced its partnership with global automobile giant BMW to develop EVs in the country.
Under the partnership, Chennai headquartered TVS will be responsible for designing and developing future BMW Motorrad products as well as looking after supply chain management, and industrialisation. The first product jointly developed by both the companies will be showcased rolled out of the assembly lines in the next two years.
Read More: A grand EV collaboration between BMW and India’s TVS is a big loss for China
Modi government’s Rs 76,000 crore approval for manufacturing semiconductors
These developments come on the heels of the Modi government’s decision of approving a Rs 76,000-cr incentive scheme for semiconductors. The move would further India’s ambitions to be self-reliant in electronics manufacturing, bring massive investments and result in 35,000 specialised jobs apart from indirect employment for one lakh people.
As is well understood, modern cars and bikes require the use of semiconductors on a large scale. However, the disruption in supply chain management due to Covid-19 has slowed down the process of procuring precious modern commodities.
Launching PLI schemes for the EV sector
Moreover, as reported by TFI, in September 2021, the government launched another iteration of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs 26,000 crore for the auto sector. The scheme will boost the production of electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel vehicles in the country.
This is the second PLI scheme in the sector as the government had earlier launched the scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (Rs 18,100 crore) and Faster Adaption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (Rs 10,000 crore).
India’s story with EV has only just begun. With the government actively backing the companies and creating a self-sustaining manufacturing setup, collaborations like TVS-SEMG, TVS-Norton and TVS-BMW could help India become a leader in the sector.