Before the TVS Pep became the official scooter of women in India, this cute little scooter gave them the key to freedom.
The year is 2025, and lakhs of women are rapidly venturing into the world of motorcycles in India. Scooters no longer interest them, as they wish to ride in the fast lane, just like men. However, 35 years ago, India was not as progressive as it is today. Therefore, women riders were few, and so were two-wheelers that weren't designed for women to ride.
Back in the day, the majority of scooters and motorcycles, ranging from the Chetak to Royal Enfields and the RX100, were bulky, which made them too heavy. Thus, it wasn't an easy task for women to ride those vehicles.
Bajaj has always been a visionary two-wheeler brand in the Indian market. Today, people give Bajaj the credit for normalising smaller cubic-centimetre sports motorcycles like the Pulsar in India. However, they tend to forget that Bajaj has always considered the needs of consumers and brought products to fill gaps in the market.
In 1990, Bajaj realised that the scooters on the market were too heavy and did not appeal to the youth, whereas motorcycles were too expensive. Therefore, they introduced the Sunny, a humble and cute 50cc, two-stroke engine that was light in both aspects—in terms of physical weight and on the pocket. The scooter gave a mileage of 50 kilometres per litre, perfect for those with limited earnings.
The biggest reason why the Sunny became an instant hit was that it did not require a complete riding license. Given it was a meagre 50cc scooter without gears, it could be ridden with a learner's license, which was easy to acquire from regional transport offices.
Bajaj had spared no expense when it came to the marketing of the Sunny. Sachin Tendulkar was roped in as the face of the scooter to appeal to the youth with a tagline that read, Ride The Red Hot Super Looker Teen Machine.
Not merely print, but Bajaj also went the extra mile with advertisements on television, including one directed by Mahesh Mathai, one of India's top talents in the ad film-making industry. The ad film featured a woman rider who was shown easily taking off on the scooter with the tag line –Easy Come. Easy Go. The ad also featured a jingle composed and sung by Gary Lawyer, and the lyrics went like this:
"First, you say you're always with me,
Coz' being with me is fun.
Say you'll go the whole distance,
Since the love that you found,
All right, come on, what's going on?
What you're thinkin'?
Hmm... hmm.. hmm.. hmmmm....
Then you say you need me,
Like the garden needs rain.
Then you go and deceive me,
Like it's all... in the game...
All in the game"
Seven years later, Bajaj also launched the Sunny Zip, but by then the TVS Scooty was already in the market, eating into Bajaj's share. Not to be forgotten, economic liberalisation also meant that more technologically advanced motorcycles and scooters began entering the Indian market. Therefore, in 2000, Bajaj pulled the plug and discontinued the Sunny.
For women riders, fresher models from TVS took the place once enjoyed by the Sunny and Sunny Zip. The revolutionary glory days of Bajaj's scooter for teenagers and women came to an end but it paved a crucial path for them. However, three decades later, we still wish to spot one and get our hands on it—after all, it was truly the key to freedom for women riders in Indian automobile history post-independence.
