Two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company is ruling 5.5% higher at Rs. 48.30 per share when BSE Sensex is flat at 20,220 and BSE Auto Index is up about a percentage.

Company has forayed into the male scooter segment with launch of 110 CC Jupiter at a price of Rs. 50,220 in Tamil Nadu, targeting mainly self employed, businessmen and traders, and competing against Honda Motor’s Activa. To be manufactured at its Hosur unit, this new product will give TVS the widest range of scooters in India, across categories – female, male and dual usage which account for 29%, 35% and 36% of the market respectively.

Company aims to increase its monthly scooter sales to 50,000 units from current 35,000 units, in a year’s time and strengthen its present 15% market share in the scooters segment by 4-5%. With 2.6 lakh units being sold monthly, scooter are recording good growth in India (20% YoY in Q2FY14) due to the increasing acceptability of gearless vehicles and new product launches.

It remains to be seen whether Jupiter can live up to its expectations!