Aiming to attract customers during this festive season, TVS Motor Company, India’s third largest two-wheeler and fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer, has introduced a matte-red shade to its popular Apache RTR 160 and RTR 180 motorcycles.

The company had launched the premium Apache RTR 200 4V with the matte red option among other shades in January last year. According to several Pune-based TVS Motor dealerships, the matte red variant of the RTR 200 4V leads all other colour choices in terms of demand for the premium city commuter.

Clearly, the company now plans to extend the same premium touch to the smaller Apache siblings in its portfolio, which lies in the engine displacement range of 160cc – 200cc premium commuter category.

According to the official communication from TVS Motor, the racing syrah matte red finish lends the Apache RTR motorcycles a sharp, striking look. “The syrah matte red is an exclusive shade with eggshell finish, developed using a twin component thermosetting acrylic paint system with a special pigment to create a ‘matte clear’ process. The motorcycles wear the racing syrah matte red across the fuel tank, engine cowl and the rear frame with red rim stickers for TVS Apache RTR 160 and white for RTR 180.  These accentuations give the motorcycles a new attractive look for the festive season,” as per the company statement issued today.

Apache RTR motorcycles, which have sold more than 2.5 million units cumulatively, garnered sales of 296,354 units in FY2016-17, marking a YoY growth of 13.27 percent. The Apache portfolio averaged sales of close to 25,000 units per month for the company last fiscal.

The company has sold 162,595 units (up 21.70 percent YoY) of its Apache-branded motorcycles during the April-August 2017 period this fiscal, averaging monthly sales of 32,519 units. This monthly average is likely to grow further during the festive months this fiscal.