TVS King auto rickshaw to go diesel

14/02/2013 - 10:12 TVS King, TVS Nithyanandh K

TVS Motor is gearing up to launch a diesel variant of the TVS King auto rickshaw in the coming months.

The King is now available in both petrol and CNG versions and the huge price difference between petrol and diesel has prompted TVS to come up with a diesel rickshaw. The manufacturer estimates that the current market for diesel auto rickshaws is around 30,000 units a month.

The TVS King is powered by a 200cc single cylinder petrol engine which develops 7.4 bhp. TVS has managed to sell 13,602 units of the King in the last quarter of 2012 against 8,899 units during the same period in 2011, which is a 53% increase.

Mr. K. N. Radhakrishnan, CEO of TVS Motor said "Our investment in this (diesel King) would be low, as the design is going to be the same and the target market would be largely domestic market."

Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the prime markets for this launch and TVS is looking to improve its penetration in states like Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, etc.

While there are no details available on the specification and displacement of the diesel engine that will go into the TVS King, the rickshaw is expected to lock horns with the diesel variants of the Piaggio Ape auto rickshaws.