Academic session

LML AUTO LTD.

The company was incorporated in 1972 as a private limited company called Lohia Machine Ltd. and starting manufacturing machine in technical collaboration with ARCT FRANCE in terms of companies Act 1956. The company was converted into public limited company. The activities were diversified by putting up synthetic yarn processing unit in 1978. Nylon 6 chips manufacturing of LML scooter. The activity of engineering unit was phased out and fiber unit was de-linked. As such as the company now manufacturing scooters and motorbike under the brand name of LML.

Innovative marketing such as exchanging any old scooter for new LML one and paying the difference is easy installment he helped in booming up the market share of LML considerable LML enthused its dealer with mere generous morging which ranges from Rs-725 to Rs-1100.

From a mere 7 percent, market share in 1991-1992 LML has today made significant result and commands an impressive market share of about 26 percent.

4. 
   TVS Motor Company
   

TVS Suzuki became the first Indian company to introduce 100 cc Indo-Japanese motorcycles in collaboration with Suzuki Motor Company. Having amicably parted ways TVS Motor Company continues to manufacture highly reliable mopeds, motorcycles & scooters. TVS have one of the most comprehensive line-ups of motorcycles. The 2 Stroke Max 100 range provide the entry level. The new TVS Centra and the latest TVS Victor GLX 125 both use the new VT-i (Variable Timing Ignition) to good effect.

The Indian two- wheeler market has a size of over Rs100,000 million with the sales of more than 3.7 million units in 2000-01 and has been growing at 7% CAGR over 1997-2001. TVS Suzuki Ltd (TSL) is one of the three companies that account for more than 80% of the industry. The company has 23% market share in domestic two-wheeler industry. TSL is present in all the three leading segments of the 2-wheeler market viz; mopeds, motorcycles and scooters. The company is India’s largest manufacturer of mopeds with a market share of 66%, and dominates the southern parts of India. It is also a market leader in the fast growing vario-scooter (Scooty) market with a market share of 34%. In FY01, motorcycle sales contributed to 53% followed by sales in mopeds to 24% of total sales of Rs 18,408.2mn. TSL’s first 4-stroke premium segment motorcycle ‘Suzuki Fiero’ has achieved about 3% market share within the first year of its launch. Most recently the 19-yr old JV with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has fallen off and TVS has been renamed as ‘TVS Motor Company Ltd.

The Indian two-wheeler sector contributes the largest volumes amongst all the segments in automobile industry. Though the segment can be broadly categorized into 3 sub-segments viz; scooters, motorcycles and mopeds; some categories introduced in the market are a combination of two or more segments e.g. scooterettes and step-thru’s. The market primarily comprises five players in the two-wheeler segment with most of the companies having foreign collaborations with well-known Japanese firms earlier. But with most of the companies now planning 100% subsidiaries in India, a few JV’s have fallen out.

In the last four to five years, the two-wheeler market has witnessed a marked shift towards motorcycles at the expense of scooters. In the rural areas, consumers have come to prefer sturdier bikes to withstand the bad road conditions. In the process the share of motorcycle segment has grown from 48% to 58% , the share of scooters declined drastically from 33% to 25% , while that of mopeds declined by 2% from 19% to 17% during the year 2000-01. The Euro emission norms effective from April 2000 led to the existing players in the two- stroke segment to install catalytic converters. 4-stroke motorcycles are now replacing all new vehicles. Reduced excise duty and fierce competition has led to a fall in prices of certain models.

TSL has been the largest manufacturer of mopeds, which are predominantly prevalent as a means of low cost transportation and provide a tremendous potential in all the parts of India. However the company is likely to face threat from domestic competitors viz; Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) which would continue its price-based competition and Honda Motorcycles and Scooters Ltd (HMSL) a new entrant in the 2-wheeler market. Since the two-wheeler industry has grown vigorously in the past, there has been excess capacity and cost pressures will lead to reduce margins. The removal of quantitative restrictions has also led to a threat from the Chinese players. In addition to this there has been a decline in the demand for mopeds, which is matter of concern for the company. Consequently, the company has been planning to launch a range of 4-stroke vehicles covering all segments over a period of time. Of late, TVS has been able to produce 100cc 4-stroke motorcycles indigenously and none of the company’s fast selling 2-wheelers have a major Suzuki contribution.

TVS - Suzuki ‘s motorcycle volume growth at around 1.3% is way behind that of its competitors such as Hero Honda (37.28 %) and Bajaj Auto (34.5 %). The company for the first half of FY02 posted a drop in turnover by 8% to Rs8332.8mn. Operating profit margin has declined to 7.39% from 9.53% and has been affected on account of disproportionate increase in raw material cost in relation to the turnover. Increase in staff costs to Rs364.2mn from Rs312.3mn accompanied by marginal increase in depreciation and interest costs has affected the company’s bottom line. The post–tax earnings declined by about 53% to Rs191.6mn. However the earnings during second quarter are relatively better than the first quarter of current fiscal 01-02. The pick up in sales volumes of ‘ Victor ‘ and the steady off take of Fiero have helped the company stage some sort of recovery during the second quarter.

The TVS Victor offers amongst the best value for money in the Indian two-wheeler industry.

Its 110cc engine, 4 stroke engine develops 8.1 BHP and, thanks to its digital ignition, can be optimised for power or fuel economy depending on your riding style.

Its multi-reflector headlamps provide better illumination for safer riding while its long broad seat offers great comfort both for the pillion and the rider.

5. 
   YAMAHA MOTOR INDIA PVT. LTD.
   
   

Yamaha Motor India Private (YMIPL) Ltd. is the fully owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co of Japan. YMIPL was initially known as Yamaha Motor Escorts Ltd. But the parent company, Yamaha Motor Company, purchased Escorts Ltd's remaining 26 per cent holding in their motorcycle joint venture Yamaha Motor Escorts Ltd in June 2001. It was therefore renamed as Yamaha Motor India Private Ltd.

YMI follows Yamaha Motor's corporate mission of creating 'Kando' - a unique Japanese word that means 'touching people's hearts.' 'Kando' also describes the 'spirit of challenge" to create new value surpassing customer expectations. YMIPL is committed to making products that benefit from the skills and technology used by Yamaha worldwide.