BSA Motors: From Bicycles to E-Cycles

“Bicycles have stopped being relevant to urban commuting and are increasingly used for recreation. With e-scooters, we are looking to get back in the urban commuting space,” says BSA Motors Vice-president K.B. Srinivasan. This is the sole reason why Tube Investments, the manufacturer of Hercules and BSA bicycles has decided to venture into the scooter market with a hope to regain its lost glory.

BSA Motors at present has a team of five e-scooters which are available in Delhi and Southern parts of India. With this, BSA has entered the Rs. 400 crore e-scooter market which boasts of a growth rate of 10 per cent per annum. BSA expects about 125 dealers to sell their products by the end of 2009-10 in 13 states.
BSA has about 300 exclusive bicycle outlets as well as a Rs. 30-crore plant in Chennai which boasts of a daily maximum production capacity of 300 units. This has proved to make BSA an expert in engineering and retailing of such machines with which it has set a target of 15,000 to 18,000 e-scooters this year.

BSA aspires to cover the market for short-distance commuting with a range of both low-speed as well as high-speed models. There are three low-speed scooters which will not require a license and registration. These scooters can run at a speed of 25 kmph. However, BSA still has a long way to go in the market of petrol driven scooters made by Honda, Hero Honda, TVS and Suzuki. BSA also plans to increase the top-speeds from 45 kmph to 60 kmph, range from 80 km to 100 km and power from 800 watts to 2000 watts.

BSA stated that its e-scooters can help lead to savings of about 23,340 INR over scooters powered by petrol in two years with the help of electricity, and various offers such as free insurance, extended warranties and cash cards. With reliable, efficient and technologically advanced products, which are priced right, we are sure BSA should be able to achieve its goal.