New Bike Launches in India

After being pushed down to the fourth position in the Indian two-wheeler market, TVS Motor are not willing to take things lying down.

The Hosur-based company is readying a slew of new two-wheeler models, including the Phoenix executive-commuter which was spied being tested near the company’s factory in Tamil Nadu. The bike strongly resembles the 125-cc concept, Radeon, which was shown during the 2012 Auto Expo. Slated for an October launch, it carries similar design cues as seen on the TVS Star City, with an all-black engine, exhaust and six-spoke alloy wheels. Going by the spy pictures, the new executive-commuter has nothing in common with the TVS Flame, except the 124.8-cc, single-spark, air-cooled motor capable of producing about 10.5 PS and 10 Nm. The good looking petal disc brakes in front hint at it being positioned towards the premium side of the 125-cc segment at an estimated price of Rs 50,000.

YouTube user, Anil R Nair, has uploaded a sneak preview of what seems to be the TV promos for the new Phoenix. Being surreptitiously shot with what seems to be a cellphone camera, the video quality is a bit blurry and shaky, but it gives us a fair idea of how the new bike will be squared against the competition. Expecially noteworthy is the snazzy instrument console in orange with a huge speedo, service indicator, fuel gauge and tripmeter among other paraphernalia. We can’t wait to see what other surprises this TVS have in store for us.

Watch the leaked promo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCvWQp1g9I

 

 

 

Image courtesy: www.motorbeam.com

Yamaha Motor India has announced bookings for its Ray scooter, tentatively scheduled for a mid-September launch.

The Ray has a lot of expectations to live up to as it is the first ever offering of the Japanese motorcycle major in the Indian market and, as such, will be expected to deliver on the company’s core values of performance and excitement without compromising on the user-friendliness traditionally offered by scooters of its ilk.

Yamaha has also roped in Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador for the Ray and also launched an innovative promotional campaign featuring the Bollywood actress. The company is asking customers to guess the correct ex-showroom price of the Ray, and the correct answerer will get to ride away on one of the brand new 125cc scooters. Moreover, 1000 randomly selected bookings will be gifted Yamaha merchandise while all advance bookings will get some assured gifts from the company. So, if you’re in the market for a new scooter, head over to the nearest Yamaha sales outlet or just log on to their website http://epoint.yamaha-motor-india.com/raybookingsopen/ to take part in the campaign. Who knows, you might just be the lucky winner of a stonking new Ray!

 

 

Indian cricket captain and brand ambassador of TVS StaR city, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was in the city yesterday, unveiled a special, limited edition, all black, 110cc TVS StaR City motorcycle for Tamil Nadu.

In a private function the Indian captain, who interacted with TVS Motor Company’s Tamil Nadu dealers and select owners of TVS motorcycles, said, “This has been a great experience for me, mingling with people who literally live motorcycles. Every interaction is a new learning experience no matter how much one thinks one knows.  It feels great to be among the consumers of TVS StaR City that I’ve endorsed for seven years now. I personally love motorcycles, so launching a special edition TVS StaR City, is that much more exciting.”

According to TVS Motor Company’s President–Marketing, H S Goindi, “In addition to having an all-black themed styling, this value for money, executive class commuter is elegant, yet tough and powerful, returns a stunning fuel economy. High quality ride handling and easy maneuverability makes riding the TVS StaR City extremely comfortable, on any terrain. There is no change in price which starts from Rs. 40,775/- (ex-showroom Tamil Nadu) and we expect this special edition TVS StaR City motorcycle, to further strengthen the volumes of TVS StaR City by around 15% in the state.”

All black alloy wheels, refreshed styling and graphics with a comprehensive backlit speedo add to the style quotient of the TVS StaR City.

 

Indian cricket captain and brand ambassador of TVS StaR city, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was in the city yesterday, unveiled a special, limited edition, all black, 110cc TVS StaR City motorcycle for Tamil Nadu.

In a private function the Indian captain, who interacted with TVS Motor Company’s Tamil Nadu dealers and select owners of TVS motorcycles, said, “This has been a great experience for me, mingling with people who literally live motorcycles. Every interaction is a new learning experience no matter how much one thinks one knows.  It feels great to be among the consumers of TVS StaR City that I’ve endorsed for seven years now. I personally love motorcycles, so launching a special edition TVS StaR City, is that much more exciting.”

According to TVS Motor Company’s President–Marketing, H S Goindi, “In addition to having an all-black themed styling, this value for money, executive class commuter is elegant, yet tough and powerful, returns a stunning fuel economy. High quality ride handling and easy maneuverability makes riding the TVS StaR City extremely comfortable, on any terrain. There is no change in price which starts from Rs. 40,775/- (ex-showroom Tamil Nadu) and we expect this special edition TVS StaR City motorcycle, to further strengthen the volumes of TVS StaR City by around 15% in the state.”

All black alloy wheels, refreshed styling and graphics with a comprehensive backlit speedo add to the style quotient of the TVS StaR City.

 

Asian Network for Quality (ANQ) has announced the list of winners of its prestigious Ishikawa-Kano Award for the year 2012.

This year’s winners include Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, Dong Mingzhu President, Gree Electric Appliances and Liang Haishan, Executive Vice President, Haier Group. The awards were bestowed on them on the last day of the ANQ Congress, 1st August 2012, in Hong Kong.  Asian Network for Quality (ANQ) which was established in 2002 is aimed at promoting the rapid evolution of Asia’s quality management.

The Ishikawa-Kano award is fittingly named after two eminent thinkers in the field of quality management in the latter half of the 20th century who passionately promoted quality as a way of life in different parts of the world often at their own expense and time, Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa and Prof. Noriaki Kano. Prof Ishikawa is considered the pioneer of the evolution of Total Quality Management in its holistic approach as it is perceived today. His most prominent legacy is in people involvement particularly at the Gemba through Quality Control Circles for harnessing their emotional and intellectual potential for managing their work for the benefit of all stakeholders.  Professor Noriaki Kano is considered as amongst the handful of the contemporary leaders in the field of quality management in the world who made substantial contribution in many ways to the concept and practice of quality management. His most widely used legacy is the Kano Model for Attractive Quality Creation that has influenced product development processes in all sectors of economy around the world.

It is only appropriate that someone like Venu Srinivasan, who lives TQM, be awarded in only the third edition of this prestigious award. In fact, he has been the driving force behind his companies’ quest for achieving total quality and what is not well-known is the contribution of the total quality management (TQM) processes that were put into practice in the early ’90s that culminated in the company receiving the Deming medal.

A recipient of one of the highest honours in India, the Padma Shree Award, Srinivasan was conferred with an honorary “doctorate degree in science” by the University of Warwick, U.K. for excellence in manufacturing and contribution in the field of technology and R&D, in 2004. He is also the recipient of the Jamsetji Tata Life Time Achievement Award for the year 2004 by the Indian Society for Quality and was conferred with ‘Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa)’ by IIT Kharagpur, India, for outstanding contribution to the field of Quality Movement and Manufacturing Excellence in India.

It is Srinivasan’s firm belief that Quality consciousness is not a technology revolution but rather a human resource revolution. In other words, TQM is all about changing the mindset of the company, its suppliers, its vendors, its customers and then the larger society and making them quality conscious.