BMW CE 02 production begins at TVS' Hosur factory

TVS Motor Company, on Friday, started production of CE 02, its first electric vehicle that is jointly designed and developed with BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of German automaker BMW Group.

The two-wheeler will be manufactured at the TVS Hosur plant, located about 70 kilometers from Bengaluru. CE 02 is being marketed as something between a motorcycle and a scooter and the target market is youth.

Along with this, the plant also rolled out the 150,000th unit of BMW Motorrad's 310cc series of motorcycles.

This marks 10 years of TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad partnership since they first inked a long-term strategic agreement in April 2013 for manufacturing sub-500cc motorcycles for the global market. The collaboration resulted in the development of five motorcycles, including the G 310 R, 310 GS, and G310 RR, along with TVS Motors flagship motorcycles - the TVS Apache RR 310 and the recently launched TVS Apache RTR 310.

At present, TVS Hosur manufacturing plant produces around 12% of BMW Motorrad’s volumes, globally, KN Radhakrishnan, director and chief executive officer of TVS Motor Company told reporters. The products have now gone to over 150,000 customers across leading markets like the EU, USA, Latin America, Japan, China, and India, he added.

CE 02, which operates at a peak power of 11 kilowatts with a maximum speed of 95 kmph and range of 90 km, will be launched in the European market in April 2024 for €8,500. The companies are still in talks about when to launch the vehicle in India. "We are discussing if it should be a month early or a month later," said Dr Markus Shcramm, head of BMW Motorrad.

Talking about the two-wheeler EV market in Europe, Schramm said, the market is 10 years behind the car market owing to the regulatory challenges, and he does not see it catching up anytime soon. However, the appetite for EV motorbikes is very high in India and the country is ready for these vehicles, Radhakrishnan told DH during a chat on the sidelines of the event.

TVS is an engineering and production partner for BMW Motorrad. Both leaders agreed that there are no plans to change the structure of their association in the near future. 

BMW CE 02 production begins at TVS