Leading automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd seeks to further strengthen its presence in the pick-up (cargo) segment and grow the market share to 65-70 per cent in the coming months, up from 60 per cent currently, with the launch of more products, including new tech products built on its latest platforms.

As part of its growth plan, the company has rolled out a new product — Bolero MaXX Pik-Up, built on a new platform MaXX, with enhanced performance and telematics solutions. Packed with 47 features, the 3-tonne (gross vehicle weight) pickup, with a payload capacity of 1,300 kg and mileage promise of about 17 km, will be available in three variants (City 3000, City 3000 Lx and City 3000 Vx) in the ₹7.68-7.87 lakh price range (ex-showroom, all India) for intra-city applications.

Readying for future

“This is the first product from the new platform. It will set some benchmarks and make the industry follow. Our objective is to make this platform future-ready because we see a trend where commercial vehicle customers also want more features like in cars and also there are different needs in certain application areas. Over time, there will be more models under the new platform,” Venkat Srinivas, Senior Vice President & Head-Product Development, Commercial Vehicles, M&M, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the launch.

Last year, the company indicated that it would consolidate its position in the SCV (small commercial vehicle) segment, which includes pickup and mini-truck segments, with 17 new launches (including passenger models, too) by 2026. The introductions would include a new pickup range, eight electric models, CNG variants in 12 products etc. It will also include some new platforms for the mini-truck segment, where the company is relatively weak.

South focus

Since the southern region is a big market for the company, it is aiming to increase its pickup segment market share to all India level (60 per cent) from about 43 per cent now, supported by the new pickups, said Baneswar Banerjee, Zonal Head Sales (South). South sells about 8,000 vehicles (all brands put together) in the segment every month and “we aim to grab a lion’s share of it,” he added.

Meanwhile, the company is prepared to meet the demand surge amid the current chip shortage. “We have secured supplies before the launch of the product with a lot of proactive measures including engineering changes,” said Srinivas.

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