Brands
TVS shifts gears with NTORQ 150, India’s first hyper sport scooter
MUMBAI: TVS Motor Company has blurred the lines with the launch of the NTORQ 150, billed as India’s first hyper sport scooter. Unveiled in Bengaluru at a starting price of Rs 1.19 lakh (ex-showroom, all India), the NTORQ 150 promises to give riders more than just a daily commute. It offers acceleration, attitude and Alexa.
Powered by a 149.7cc race-tuned engine, the scooter rockets from 0 to 60 km/h in just 6.3 seconds, topping out at 104 km/h. Add in ABS, traction control and a racy muffler note, and it makes a strong case as the quickest scooter in its class.
Design-wise, TVS has gone full stealth mode. Inspired by fighter jets, the NTORQ 150 comes with Multipoint projector headlamps, aerodynamic winglets, a naked handlebar and a distinctive ‘T’ tail lamp. The forward-biased stance and arrowhead front give it the look of a machine always ready for take-off.
But performance isn’t the only talking point. Riders get a hi-res TFT cluster packed with over 50 connected features, including Alexa and smartwatch integration, live vehicle tracking, turn-by-turn navigation and even social media alerts. The adaptive display, styled like a gaming console, underscores its Gen Z appeal.
Safety hasn’t been left in the rear-view either. ABS, traction control, hazard lamps, theft alerts and an emergency brake warning all feature as segment firsts. Comfort is boosted with telescopic suspension, adjustable brake levers, a patented EZ centre stand and roomy 22-litre under-seat storage.
The NTORQ 150 comes in two variants, with colourways like Stealth Silver, Racing Red, Turbo Blue and Nitro Green ensuring riders won’t go unnoticed on city streets.
Speaking at the launch, TVS Motor Company, president of India 2W business, Gaurav Gupta said the new scooter combines “race-inspired performance, advanced connectivity, and first-in-segment safety features” to delight a new generation of riders.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
