Swaraj Baggonkar Moneycontrol News
Utility vehicle and tractor manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra is stepping on the gas to expand its commercial vehicle portfolio with several launches in the next two years.
The Mumbai-based company will launch the first set of new intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) in the coming months as part of plans to become a full range commercial vehicle player.
Usually ICVs have a load carrying capacity of 8 to 16 tonne. But M&M defines its ICV products in the 5.5 to 16 ton category.
As part of the bouquet, the company is launching a full modular platform along with three engines and three transmissions. These launches will have light and heavy duty versions with a variety of wheelbases and load body types.
“We are ready with intermediate commercial vehicle launches that will take us from 5.5 tonne to 16 tonne. This is a modular platform where we are using three engines, three transmissions, three cabs, eight load segments,”said Rajan Wadhera, president (automotive sector) Mahindra & Mahindra.
The company presently has just one product in the ICV range, a 16-seater mini bus called Excelo.
M&M has already announced an investment of Rs 600 crore towards development of a range of ICV and light commercial vehicles (LCV) that will help bridge several product gaps spanning across 3-49 tonne.
The cargo carrying ICV segment up to 12 tonne reported a growth of 27 percent to 76,169 units last financial year as against 60,115 units sold in 2016-17. Tata Motors has a 27 percent share in the segment but the leader is VE Commercial Vehicle (Volvo-Eicher Motors joint venture company) with a share of 29 percent.
New leader
M&M has already made a mark in the LCV market. In 2016, M&M became the largest LCV manufacturer in the country after dethroning Tata Motors in the cargo carrying segment.
Growth has slowed down a bit. LCV volumes for M&M grew 20 percent last financial year, lower than the 30 percent growth posted by the segment.
However, Tata Motors remains the largest LCV maker with the inclusion of passenger carriers. It has a share of 40.3 percent while M&M’s share in the segment stands at 39.9 percent as of last financial year. The LCV segment has three-wheelers, micro trucks, pickups, mini vans, mini trucks and mini buses.
The 12-16 tonne, haulage and tipper segment fell by 22 percent to 35,176 units, according to data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Even the passenger carrying ICV segment reported a fall of 25 percent to 47,310 units. Ashok Leyland is the leader in the segment followed by Tata Motors.
Fruitful merger
The merger of Mahindra Truck and Bus (former stand-alone subsidiary) into M&M happened at an opportune time in 2013. Not only was the then loss making subsidiary offered a wider range of financial options as being part of the M&M, it also benefited from the sustained uptick in demand seen since last year.
Last year, M&M’s total commercial vehicle volume grew by 20 percent which was in line with the growth posted by the industry. It remained as the second largest CV player behind Tata Motors and ahead of Ashok Leyland. It had a share of 25 percent last year while that of Tata Motors stood at 44 percent.
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