TVS Raider 125 races past 300,000 sales in 19 months

Like the NTorq, TVS Motor Co’s vehicle of entry into the 125cc scooter market, the Raider 125, the Chennai-based OEM's first product in the 125cc commuter motorcycle market, is turning out to be a growth driver for the company.

Launched on September 16, 2021, the Raider has, in a span of 19 months, sold a total of 316,130 units in the domestic market till end-March 2023. This comprises 76,742 units in the last seven months of FY2022 and 239,388 units in FY2023. Last fiscal’s sales translate into average monthly sales of 19,948 units.

Of the total 910,376 motorcycles which TVS sold in FY2023 (up 29%), the Raider 125 accounted for a 26% share, not bad for a product in its first full year of sales in the competitive domestic market. The Raider 125 has a fair number of rivals including the Bajaj Pulsar 125, Pulsar NS 125, Honda SP 125 and CB Shine, and the Hero Glamour and Super Splendor.

If the 19-month export numbers of 83,190 units are added, combined cumulative domestic and export sales add up to 399,320 units – 688 units shy of the 400,000-unit milestone, which would have been crossed in the first few days of May 2023.

Sporty styling draws buyers

Priced at Rs 101,144 for the drum variant and Rs 106,919 for the disc variant, one of the TVS Raider 125’s standout elements is its athletic-looking styling in the form of the muscular tank, snazzy headlight and minimalist tail-lamp, as also the split seat.

Clearly, the snazzy styling with more than a hint of sportiness, when compared to the staid designs of most of its rivals, seems to have paid dividends to the Raider 125 in the competitive marketplace. What seems to have drawn buyers to the TVS Raider 125 is also the number of features like daytime running lights, pass-light switch, pillion grabrail, pillion seat, pillion footrest, tripmeter, electric start and clock. What’s more, other than the Bajaj Pulsar NS125, the Raider 125 is the only other 125cc motorcycle in India to offer a monoshock.

Voted Autocar India's Bike of the Year 2022, for its combination of striking looks, punchy engine and value-for-money proposition, the Raider 125 is powered by TVS’ potent 124.8cc engine, which develops 11.4hp and 11.2 Nm of torque, mated to a five-speed transmission. TVS claims this motorcycle, which is shod with 17-inch tyres, accelerates from 0-60kph in 5.9 seconds and goes on to hit a top speed of 99kph. Fuel efficiency is a claimed 67 kilometres per litre.

In October 2022, the TVS Raider 125 became the first in its segment to be equipped with a TFT cluster, voice recognition and a host of advanced connectivity tech features.

In October 2022, TVS launched the range-topping variant of its Raider 125 equipped with a 5-inch TFT cluster. The standard Raider 125 continues to have a digital LCD display. Equipping the Raider 125 with a five-inch TFT cluster has brought a whole new bunch of features. The TFT dash can be paired with the rider’s smartphone enabling receiving of notification alerts, weather forecast as well as turn-by-turn navigation. Also, when the low-fuel warning light comes on, the Raider 125 will automatically navigate to the nearest petrol station.

(With inputs from Rishabh Bhaskar)

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