TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers globally, announced a strategic partnership with Rapido, India’s leading on-demand delivery and mobility platform today by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As part of the MoU, TVS Motor and Rapido will look to collaborate by leveraging synergies of their respective businesses in the fast-moving mobility market in India.
Buoyed by an increasingly urban population with ready access to smartphones and increasing penetration of e-commerce and on-demand services across India, the hyperlocal mobility segments bike-taxi, auto-taxi, and delivery has experienced a significant boom and now represents a potentially ~USD 15B opportunity. By signing this MoU, TVS Motor and Rapido are bringing together their strength in mobility and seamless technology platform, respectively, to deliver a winning proposition to this demanding user base. This comprehensive partnership will cover both two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles and extend across ICE and EV segments.
Both parties will also look to leverage the learnings from the collaboration to enhance the product usage experience of the Rapido Captain and Rider base through delivery of improved overall journey experience in the form of better product forms, credit and financing solutions, and other use cases delivered via technology innovations.
Speaking at the occasion, Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director said, “TVS Motor firmly believes in the future of mobility and the strength of partnerships in this global transformation. We have always been at the forefront of driving electrification in the industry with our continued focus on EVs and Future mobility. Rapido has built a strong user base of Captains and Riders and is the leading bike-taxi platform in India today. We believe we can expand our reach in the mobility and hyper-local segments using high-quality, connected products from the TVS Electric portfolio and financing from our group. We believe that TVS Motor, TVS Credit and Rapido can be long term strategic partners as this ecosystem matures further.”
“Rapido has envisaged plugging first and last-mile daily commuting gaps in India, not just in metros, but beyond in tier 2 and 3, as well. We are delighted with this strategic partnership with TVS Motor Company, which is an extension of our vision and will bring us a step closer to our goals. There is a collective and shared passion for transforming and establishing the foundation stone of sustainable mobility in India. This association will help us strengthen our capabilities and expand our electric bikes fleet. The ultimate objective is to help millions of more Indians commute through an affordable, comfortable, convenient and safe alternative mode of transport,” said Aravind Sanka, Co-founder at Rapido.
This MoU is in line with its TVS Motor announcements in the past of expanding the electric product portfolio of TVS Motor which spreads across 5-25kW two and three-wheelers portfolio, launching all of them by mid-2023. TVS Motor aims to have electric vehicles across segments like delivery, commuter premium, high-performance sports, and electric three-wheelers while expanding the presence of TVS iQube Electric across all major cities in India.
