It’s one step at a time for Multix

It is still early days for the Multix, the multi-role personal vehicle recently launched by Eicher Polaris.

For the moment, says CEO, Radhesh Chandra Verma, the priority is to gradually build a footprint in Rajasthan, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. It will be a good 24 months before the entire country is covered in this retail drive.

There are 30 dealers located across Jaipur, Tirupati, Aurangabad, Nellore, Nagpur, Madurai, Patna, Coimbatore, Varanasi, Ranchi and a host of other cities and towns. It is also clear that Verma and his team are looking at smaller centres with a fair degree of disposable incomes. It is here that the target audience, the independent businessman, is core to the growth of the Multix.

After all, the vehicle was designed keeping him in mind and the potential is staggering at nearly six crore such buyers. The Multix has been designed to meet a range of uses both at the business and personal ends. In the process, it will have to do better than a two-wheeler and yet be more affordable than a car.

From Eicher Polaris’ point of view, the independent businessman is a son-of-the-soil who loves his town and has no intentions of leaving it. He is ambitious and keen to grow his business. This buyer also has a family and would ideally like to spend time with them on leisure outings.

Verma then reels off potential applications beyond business which include taking the family along to events like marriages and picnics or visits to temples or the in-laws’ homes. As he puts it, the outdoors is a big thing in smaller parts of India where people revel in getting together and having a good time.

It is here that a product like the Multix would come in more than handy in handling rough terrain and yet looking good enough to create that sense of aspiration among buyers. Despite its immense potential, Eicher Polaris would rather take one step at a time to build a buyer base which explains why it is initially looking at a modest sales target of 60,000 units annually.

From Polaris’ point of view, though, the sky is the limit for the Multix going by its recent investor presentation. The US-based maker of all-terrain vehicles has projected 200 dealers to be in place by 2020 which is nearly seven times the present number. It is a clear reflection of intent for the Multix and why Eicher Polaris has such faith in the product and its ability to deliver in the coming years.

Interestingly, the American company’s presentation also dwells on the potential of the Multix as a 3-in-1 solutions provider in meeting the needs of business (with its 400-litre carrying space), family (seating capacity for five people as well as a smooth ride) and power thanks to 3 kW of electricity generated from within.

These attributes should ideally help the Multix replace other mobility options like the small car for the family or the (small) truck for business and the tractor for power. The transition will, of course, take time which also puts in context why all this could happen only by the end of this decade.

Other manufacturers are also quickly catching on to the idea of providing mobility options especially when public transport is under immense pressure across India. These include Tata Motors’ Magic and Iris as well as Mahindra & Mahindra’s Maxximo models.

Bajaj Auto, likewise, has pioneered the RE60 quadricycle which is still to debut in India but has already been earmarked for export markets as the Qute. Piaggio and M&M could also contemplate similar quadricycle options in the coming years.

However, the Multix has targeted a specific user segment which will need it for both business and personal use. Eicher Polaris had worked extensively getting market inputs for the product.

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